Gmail for iOS app updated to pre-fetch emails in background, and more

Google has updated its Gmail for iOS app. The update will supposedly save a good amount of users' time by "pre-fetching" their Gmail messages before they open the app.

"The app now fully supports background app refresh, which means your Gmail messages will be pre-fetched and synced so they're right there when you open the app-no more annoying pauses while you wait for your inbox to refresh," states the Gmail blog post.

The updated Gmail for iOS app is compatible with iOS 7 and higher versions. Users would need to turn on background app refresh and notifications (badge, alert, or banner) for the Gmail app. The Gmail for iOS app, once logged into by users, would give automatic access to other Google services such as "Maps, Drive, YouTube and Chrome." This will eliminate the need for going through the search giant's two-step verification process every time users log into different Google services.

The updated Gmail for iOS app can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store.

In January this year, Google faced some problems with its Gmail service with a bug that affected users on a few platforms - iOS app, mobile browsers, and an offline version of Gmail. Said to be caused by a Gmail software update to the platforms, the bug resulted in certain actions being applied to messages other than those selected, or being viewed. The bug was affecting users between January 15 and January 22, and according to Google has since been fixed.