Gmail is among the top email clients in the world, and thanks to Google's efforts in machine learning the service is only getting better. We've seen how Google has been testing several automation features with the Inbox for Gmail client, and now it appears that Gmail for Android may be receiving a smart feature of its own: nudges.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by Google in a future build.


Gmail Prepares to Add Nudges

The latest version of Gmail for Android, version 8.2.25, is rolling out in the Google Play Store. According to a difference in the strings between the previous and most recent versions of the applications, Google will add a new preference called "Nudges" in account settings. The feature will supposedly "nudge" you to reply to emails that the service deems important, but you may have forgotten to respond to. Gmail will show these "nudged" emails at the top of your inbox.

        <string name="account_settings_nudges">Nudges</string>
<string name="preferences_nudge_section_inbound_summary">Emails you might have forgotten to respond to will appear at the top of your inbox</string>
<string name="preferences_nudge_section_inbound_title">Suggest emails to reply to</string>
<string name="preferences_nudge_section_outbound_summary">Sent emails you might need to follow up on will appear at the top of your inbox</string>
<string name="preferences_nudge_section_outbound_title">Suggest emails to follow up on</string>
<string name="preferences_nudging_title">Reply and follow up</string>

I haven't seen the setting pop up on any of my devices yet, so this may be a work-in-progress. We'll let you know if or when this feature goes live. Personally, my inbox is pretty tidy, but for those of you with cluttered inboxes, such a feature may be a welcome addition.

Let us know in the comments if you spot anything new, and follow our APK Teardown tag for more articles like this!