Google is the creator of both Gmail and Android, yet the Android app version of Gmail has been lacking a very basic tool compared to the iPhone app and the email service on a web browser. You might have thought that the Android app would be the cutting edge of Gmail features, but this simply isn’t the case.

Thankfully, Google has finally made the update, bringing label creation to Gmail on Android for, amazingly, the very first time.

Labels are a way to create subfolders to sort your unwieldy Gmail inbox into something more manageable. I use them to quickly sort incoming mail into labels for bills, invoices, specific trips, personal projects and more.

You have been able to view and send mail into already created labels on Android, but unbelievably, only now can you create them on Android.

I am no app developer, but considering I have been using labels on Gmail for at least six years (judging by my label collection), it’s very odd that the Android app is only getting this tool in 2026. I guess I have done all my label creation on my laptop for years, as email sorting, as a millennial, is very much a big screen activity. Just like booking flights or moving more than £100 using online banking, much to the amusement of younger generations.

Still, apparently we can’t have everything at once. You can create and name a label, as well as delete one, but you still can’t colour code a label on the Android app. Back to your big screen you go.

The fact Google has made sure label creation was available for Gmail on iPhone for years before it came to Android hints at where the firm’s priorities lie. Sure, Google makes and maintains Android, which has more users worldwide than iOS, and it also sells its Pixel line up of smartphones. But keeping iPhone users on Gmail with all the newest features would appear to be a priority.

9to5Google says this update is rolling out gradually to Android users, so watch out for version number 2026.01.26.x, and you’ll be able to get labelling on the go – even if it is long overdue.