Gmail adding unread dots as Google Tasks gets deadlines

Google is giving two of its Workspace apps quality-of-life improvements, starting with unread dots in Gmail.

In addition to bold text for the sender’s name, subject line, and sent time, Gmail for Android is now adding a dot to signify unread messages. 

This circle, which is themed with Dynamic Color, appears to the right of the date/time for a prominent corner position.

The indicator is rolling out via a server-side update and is not yet widely available, with Gmail launches often taking some time to complete. It follows the last round Material 3 Expressive that placed each email in a more prominent container.

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Old vs. new

Meanwhile, Google Tasks now lets you set a deadline in addition to date/time reminders. “Add deadline” appears above the existing “Add date/time” on the details page. 

Deadlines do not appear in Google Calendar or the Google Tasks homepage on Android. However, they do appear on tasks.google.com, so this capability might not be completely launched yet. They lack the ability to specify a time. 

We’re seeing deadlines rolled out to Google Tasks for Android and web, while you can also add them when creating tasks in Google Calendar.