Gmail on iPhone

rp2000 · 27 Dec 2012 at 13:25

Hi,

I downloaded the new Gmail app recently and I have noticed that I get notifications for new e-mails (it even shows the fist few lines of the message in the Banner). However, the actual e-mail is not downloaded till I go into the application. Is this normal behaviour or have I missed a setting somewhere?

I know you can get Push by using EAS, but I would rather use the application, due to the better Labels integration. Also I am sure I read somewhere that Google are turning off EAS in January. I assumed this was because they were "pushing" mail through their own protocols using the app (like on Android) but it does not seem to be the case on my iPhone. BTW, same thing happens with the app on my iPad, but I don't really care as I don't use that much for e-mails.

rp2000

4T5 · 27 Dec 2012 at 13:26

Didn't Google stop the push on Iphones ? I may be completely wrong there as it was something I read over the last few festive days.

Morfik · 27 Dec 2012 at 13:29

Normal behaviour. Apple restricts apps running in the background such that Gmail can't run and download the message until you actually open it. The best you will get is the notifications.

You're correct this is a big downgrade from how Push (via EAS) works but Google seem to believe this acceptable to its users (at least on iOS). You'll find it even more frustrating if the time you actually open the Gmail app you have no signal and can't view it at all.

FYI the only apps Apple allows to run in the background are VOIP (i.e. Skype), Sat Navs, Music Players and other apps using Geo location, all other apps can run in the background to complete tasks for ~10minutes before they get shut down.

rp2000 · 27 Dec 2012 at 13:30

It's possible, although I thought that was regarding Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) and that would stop 3rd party clients working (like the mail application in Android, WP8, iOS etc). I think that is different to the problem I have with the gmail app. I think the newest gmail app came out very soon after I got the iPhone (a month or so ago?), so not pushing through the app might be "normal" (albeit bizarre) behaviour.

Morfik said:
Normal behaviour. Apple restricts apps running in the background such that Gmail can't run and download the message until you actually open it. The best you will get is the notifications.

You're correct this is a big downgrade from how Push mail works but Google seem to believe this acceptable to its users (at least on iOS). You'll find it even more frustrating if the time you actually open the Gmail app you have no signal and can't view it at all.

Ah, that makes sense, I do recall, now you mention it, that apps don't really run in the background on iOS (apart from a few Apple ones). The scenario you have described where I was in a signal area when the notification came in but out of signal when I switched to the app has happened to me many times (on the London tubes!!) so I have to wait till I am in a signal area and switch to the application. Seems like a crappy implementation to me!!!

Can google work around this or would they need a change in Apple's iOS or app store rules to give us true push gmail via an app?

rp2000

Morfik · 27 Dec 2012 at 13:37

rp2000 said:
Can google work around this or would they need a change in Apple's iOS or app store rules to give us true push gmail via an app?

The only way they can do it (and indeed were doing it until the announcement this month) was to use EAS and the default Mail app. It worked brilliantly for pushing the notifications and the mails in the background but sadly will be no more from January. Though if you set it up now you will keep it until you change device.

They couldn't give you a true Gmail app like the Android one unless Apple allows proper multitasking of Apps which may or may not ever happen.

Feek · 27 Dec 2012 at 14:13

Is mail configured through Google Apps handled the same way? All the mail accounts I use through google are set up through Google Apps.

rp2000 · 27 Dec 2012 at 14:30

Morfik said:
The only way they can do it (and indeed were doing it until the announcement this month) was to use EAS and the default Mail app. It worked brilliantly for pushing the notifications and the mails in the background but sadly will be no more from January. Though if you set it up now you will keep it until you change device.

They couldn't give you a true Gmail app like the Android one unless Apple allows proper multitasking of Apps which may or may not ever happen.

Cheers, I may setup the EAS, for now. I don't plan on keeping this iPhone for more than a couple of months, but it will be useful until then. I used EAS on iPhone about a year ago but the labels integration was poor, but I can live with that in favour of push.

So it seems like only Android devices will have push gmail soon

. Confused why so many people were overjoyed about the new iOS app when it doesn't even push (although visually it looks nice, almost as nice as the Android app).

rp2000

Morfik · 27 Dec 2012 at 19:14

rp2000 said:
Confused why so many people were overjoyed about the new iOS app when it doesn't even push (although visually it looks nice, almost as nice as the Android app).

Sadly I think most users don't know what real push is like. As the default Gmail account setting in Mail app is IMAP most people will just press that and not realise EAS was available and was considerably better.

Really Google should have asked Apple to change the default settings for the app to be EAS and everyone would have benefited and I imagine it wouldn't get retired.

As for why people like the new app. Believe it took Google years to actually push the message details in the notification, the first generation of the app just beeped and left a counter without a proper notification. Anything was an improvement on that.