How to go back to the old and classic Google Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet icons on Android, iOS and Chrome

Together with the new Gmail logo, Workspace has arrived, with important functional innovations of various Google services, and also an important aesthetic renewal of the platform’s logos. To say of some, this change, rather than unifying the company’s services, has come to confuse users thanks to the use of the same design line.

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So, for those users who lack the old logos, both for practicality and nostalgia, now in our weekly section Xataka Basics México we will teach how to go back to the old Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet icons, in a very simple and fast way.

Alternative methods

It is important to make this clear the modification of the logos of the Google services is final, there is no way to object. However, fortunately there are alternative methods that allow you to “return” to the old aesthetics of some platforms.

Android

In Android, the alternative for changing app icons is its great customization capability with launchers from third parties. This time we will use Nova Launcher:

• Download and install Nova Launcher
• Make a long press on the icon on the screen that we want to change
• An option will appear to change both the name and the image
• We select the image of the old icon and accept the changes

As for the pictures, 9to5google He compiled them both in the circular aspect that Nova Launcher has, and in the more traditional transparent format, link below:

iOS

The same method applies to reverting to old icons in iOS, but not with launchers from third parties but with the newly discovered customization capabilities in iOS 14. As we have already explained, the latest version of Apple’s operating system allows you to create shortcuts to applications with fully customized icons:

• Let’s go to the “New Shortcut” option
• We select the action “Open app”
• We select Gmail, Calendar, Drive or Meet as appropriate

• We place the name of the link and the image that will appear on the home screen, depending on the case of the app we choose
• We select “Add”

For the images, again 9to5mac It makes our life easier with Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet icons ready for use in iOS 14.

Chrome / Edge

In the case of Chrome, we once again resort to third-party developments, as it is an extension that acts as an alternative for returning to the old Google icons in the browser tabs:

An important detail to mention is that since Chromium-based Microsoft Edge allows installation of Chrome extensions, this same process works for you too. In fact, the acquisition on these lines comes from Edge after installing the extension that allows the icons to be changed.

Or why seeing the same design and colors in various icons is confusing, not the most pleasant or simple nostalgia, these are the best and easiest options if you want switch to classic logos and icons from Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet. Don’t forget to review previous editions of our Xataka Basics México section for more useful information you didn’t know you needed.