Re: theverge.com/2023/9/25/23889791/gmail-basic-html-view-discontinued-2024
Google will send Gmail’s basic HTML view sailing into the great beyond starting in January 2024, after which time everyone who uses it will be switched to the service’s far more modern “Standard” view.
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t realize the “basic HTML” view was still available, since activating the UI required a chaotic combination of force reloading Gmail followed by frantic clicking in the bottom right of your screen, hoping to hit the link that enabled the mode.
But once you got in, basic Gmail was a marvel on multiple fronts. This lite version of Gmail, riding on the rails of a modern internet connection, was one of the last few examples I could reach for in the “web app that feels blistering fast” department. It could have used a touch more JavaScript interactivity and keyboard shortcuts, but overall it was simple and snappy. Standard Gmail is, alas, not a replacement.
Sad to see it go.