Gmail On Android Finally Solves The ‘Scroll To Reply’ Struggle
Gmail on Android is already a pretty fantastic experience, something we wish other paid email apps would try to emulate. However, is it perfect? Hardly. Could it stand to be improved upon? Sure. And that’s exactly what Google has done in its latest update to Gmail for Android, which introduces a new docked reply bar.
New reply dock in Gmail for Android
According to a report from 9to5Google, Google has replaced the quick reply UI on the Gmail app for Android. In its place is a new persistent toolbar. This reply bar on Gmail for Android allows users to Reply, Reply All, Forward, and emoji reactions to emails. If this looks familiar, it is because these actions are already available on Gmail. However, you’d have to scroll to the bottom of an email to access it.
This can be annoying if you’re in a particularly long email chain. However, with the new persistent reply bar, users can fire off quick responses or interact with an email without scrolling to the bottom. As 9to5Google notes, since the reply bar is now docked to the bottom of your screen, it will eat into the screen’s real estate. Based on the screenshot, it doesn’t look like it will take up a lot of space. However, it’s something that users should be aware of. They also point out that if you have Google Chat and/or Meet enabled, then the docked bar gets stacked.
Goodbye quick reply
Like we said, this new persistent dock replaces the quick reply UI. Google introduced a quick reply UI for Gmail last year. It brought about a more chat-like interface compared to a traditional email UI. According to Google, it is “best for quick, lightweight responses.” Google later pulled the feature for Workspace users due to “performance and quality” issues, but kept it around for personal accounts.
If you have been using Quick Reply since it rolled out, you’ll have to get used to this new reply bar. The change isn’t widely available yet. If you’re using Gmail on Android, just make sure you’re running Gmail 2025.05.04.x or newer, and it should eventually make its way to your device.
