Google is set to release an update to Gmail on Android that changes the status bar icons for notifications from both its Chat and Spaces services. With Google Hangouts nearing the end of its life, this is a new tweak that further differentiates these two messaging platforms from each other. Chat is the company's everyday messaging app, while Spaces is a Slack-like competitor for communicating with larger groups.
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Before this update, which was spotted by 9to5Google, the icons along the status bar were the same for both Chat and Spaces. Each would show you a filled message bubble with a blank space behind it. That's now gone, and Chat will just give you an empty message bubble.
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For Spaces notifications, you'll see an icon that looks like three people standing next to each other. You can see an example above with the second icon for Chat and the third icon for Spaces. The first icon is what notifications look like for both platforms. If you recognize these newer icons, it's because they're the same ones you've seen in the bottom bar of the Gmail app.
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We don't know when you'll get this update on your Android phone, but it appears to be rolling out to some running Gmail version 2022.02.20.x. We weren't able to replicate this on any of our Android devices, which leads us to believe this update may take a while to roll out to everyone.
Information source: androidpolice.com
