No matter what kind of phone you use, most of us depend on Google to some extent to organise our lives. Fortunately, you can actually get Gmail, Google Calendar and other Google services to work seamlessly with iOS — it just takes a little bit of setup. Here’s what you need to do.
If you’re really entrenched in Google services, using an Android device is ideal since it has a lot of features you can’t get on iOS. However, if you have your heart set on the fantastic interface and app library in iOS, you don’t have to hold back just because you use Gmail.
Sync Gmail with iOS Mail
When it comes to Gmail, we think Sparrow ($2.99) is the best way to get your email on iOS. It has everything that makes Gmail great: support for labels, the ability to archive and delete messages, and a fantastic interface designed to work with the iPhone.
However, if you want the iOS integration that only the native Mail app can provide (or push notifications, which Sparrow doesn’t have), you’ll need to do a bit of extra work. Here’s how to properly add Gmail as a Mail account in iOS:
- Open the Settings app and go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the Add Account button and choose Microsoft Exchange from the menu (not Gmail — more on this in a moment).
- Enter your full Gmail address (
[email protected]
) in both the Email and Username boxes, and enter your Gmail password for Password. (If you use two-step authentication — which you should — you’ll need to use one of Google’s application-specific passwords here.) Leave the Domain box blank and type in anything you want for Description (I used “Exchange”). - Click Next. You should see the spinning wheel, and then a new box will pop up for “Server”. In that box, type
m.google.com
and then tap Next. iOS should successfully create the new account for you. - When prompted, flip the Mail switch to On. You can also turn Contacts on here. We recommend switching Calendars to Off (more on this later).
Now, if you open the Mail app, you should see your Gmail inbox. By default, pressing the Delete button archives a message instead of deletes it. If you want to change that behaviour, open up Safari on your device and head to m.google.com/sync
. Log in with your Google account and choose your device from the menu. You should see the screen at the right. Check the “Enable Delete Email As Trash” box and press Save. Now the delete button will move those messages to the trash instead. You may also want to open up Settings, go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars, open up your Exchange account and change “Mail Days to Sync” to “No Limit” if you want to keep your entire inbox synced to your device.
So why should you use Exchange instead of the default Gmail option? The Exchange method is a bit more powerful. It automatically syncs all the messages in your account, lets you use the aliases you’ve set up in Gmail (if any), and uses push to notify you of new messages instantly. The Gmail option gives you a few Gmail-specific icons, but it’s less powerful than the Exchange method.
Sync Google Contacts with iOS Contacts
If you want your Gmail contacts available on iOS without having to sync them with your computer, you can set up a Microsoft Exchange account on your iPhone that will sync them over the air. If you already did this for Gmail, you can skip these steps.
- Open the Settings app and go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the Add Account button and choose Microsoft Exchange from the menu (not Gmail).
- Enter your full Gmail address (
[email protected]
) in both the Email and Username boxes, and enter your Gmail password for Password. (If you use two-step authentication — which you should — you’ll need to use one of Google’s application-specific passwords here.) Leave the Domain box blank and type in anything you want for Description (I used “Exchange”). - Click Next. You should see the spinning wheel, and then a new box will pop up for “Server.” In that box, type
m.google.com
and then tap Next. iOS should successfully create the new account for you. - When prompted, flip the Contacts switch to On.
Now, if you head into the Contacts app, you should see all your Google contacts right there. If you make any changes on the iPhone, the changes will sync back to Gmail on the web, and vice-versa.
Sync Google Calendar with iCal (and Others)
Google Calendar works a bit differently than the other services. You can use the aforementioned Exchange method to sync your calendars, but it won’t let you sync their colours, which can be confusing if you have a lot of calendars. For Calendars, we recommend using the slightly older CalDAV method instead.
- Open the Settings app and go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the Add Account button and choose Microsoft Exchange from the menu (not Gmail).
- Enter your Gmail address under both Email and Username, and type your Gmail password into the Password box. (If you use two-step authentication — which you should — you’ll need to use one of Google’s application-specific passwords here.) Type in anything you want for Description (I used “Gmail”).
- Tap the Next button and flip the Calendars switch to On if it isn’t already. Be sure to switch Mail off if you’re using the Exchange method for your Gmail.
- Now if you head into iCal, you should see your main Google Calendar events. If you want to sync your other calendars, head to your computer and go to this page. From there, you can select which calendars sync down to your iPhone. Check their boxes, click save, and reopen iCal. You should see that all your other events appear.
This method should also work with other calendar apps that get their info from iCal, such as Week Cal (our favourite calendar app for the iPhone).
In short, we recommend having two different accounts set up in your settings: one Exchange account for your Mail and Contacts, and one Gmail account for your Calendars. We’ve found that this recipe makes for the most accurate synchronisation within each service.
Pin the Google Maps Web App to Your Home Screen
The pre-installed Google Maps app has been replaced by a completely new, Apple-designed Maps app in iOS 6. If you want a true Google Maps experience on iOS, you just need to pin the web app to your home screen:
- Open up Safari and head to
maps.google.com
. - Click the share button at the bottom of your screen, and choose “Add to Home Screen”.
- Give your icon a name and it should load the iOS-optimised icon for Google Maps. Place it on your home screen wherever you like.
That’s it. It isn’t as smooth as a native app, but you’ll get all the features of Google Maps — not just the ones in the toned-down iOS app — right at your fingertips.
Everything Else
These aren’t the only Google services that deserve a spot on your iPhone, but these instructions should get you most of the way there. If you use Chrome on the desktop, then Chrome for iOS is the perfect mobile browser. You can sync all of your bookmarks, search history, passwords and Incognito Mode. Google Reader users should check out Reeder, and Google Drive users should already have the Google Drive app for iOS. Google Mobile can also be handy for voice-activated search.
Whatever your needs, you can make most Google services work on iOS without too much trouble, so you can have the best of everything Apple and Google have to offer.
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