The Gmail push: How a native iOS app could change your email experience

The popular Gmail email service may debut a native iOS app in the coming days, according to a recent article by TechCrunch author MG Siegler.

For many Gmail iPhone users, this means one very important thing will be added to their mobile email experience: push notifications.

According to an AppAdvice article, a native, dedicated Gmail app would finally allow users to receive push notifications to Google’s service on iOS -- a feature users can't get when using it via Apple’s Mail app.

What does this mean for folks who use the iPhone to check their Gmail accounts?  No more waiting for the device to "fetch" your data and bring in new emails.  Instead, they will be pushed directly to the device as soon as they arrive in your inbox.

Siegler said the lack of the push feature is one of the biggest issues with using Gmail through the iPhone’s native mail client.  He admitted that you can "hack it to work through Exchange, but then you lose other functionality, such as the ability to star messages via flags."

A native app could solve those problems and give users everything they love about Gmail wherever they are.  The app is still awaiting approval by Apple, but once released, it has far-reaching potential: Gmail has over 260 million customers worldwide.