In October 2014, Google updated its Gmail mobile application to support IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync and rival services Yahoo Mail and Outlook. It did not matter what your email address was, you could use the Gmail app on your smartphone or tablet as a one stop shop for all your email needs. However what was not yet possible was the ability to get some of Gmail’s celebrated features on your non-Gmail email account. That was, then, simply not possible.
You needed a Gmail or Google Apps account in order to be able to use Gmail features like labels, the simple inbox organization (sections like updates, promotions and social communications and features like subscribing to newsletters and RSVPing to events right from the inbox) and even Gmail’s popular spam protectors. That will no longer be the case going forward.
Starting today, Google is opening up Gmail to users of Yahoo Mail and Hotmail/Outlook.com services. It is calling that the ability to “Gmailify” your inbox.
Other email services like good old AOL Mail are not supported.
Those with Yahoo Mail and Hotmail/Outlook.com only need to fire up the updated Gmail app (version 5.11) on their devices and add their non-Gmail/Google Apps email address, opt-in to Gmailify their email account(s) and they are good to go. The Gmail app will even play nice with Google Now as the latter will display cards with information pulled from Gmail.
On Android, the updated Gmail app is yet to hit the Play Store but you can grab it from APK Mirror in the meantime. The same update is hitting iOS devices soon as well.
