<p>Is Google simply trying to create a better user experience on the iPhone and iPad or is it trying to "colonize" iOS with its apps? It all depends on your point of view though, it's probably a bit of both.</p><p>When the new Gmail app for iOS was released May 6, immediately, inflammatory headlines appeared, suggesting that Google was "taking over the iPhone." However, that's not exactly the case.</p><p>Users of the new Gmail app have the (default) option to go directly to the native versions of YouTube and Google Maps, as well as open Chrome via links in email. Previously, such links would have opened the browser embedded within Gmail or linked out to the Safari browser. In other words, users now can access the superior app experience vs. the mobile Web experience that would have occurred previously.</p><p>Many writers have focused on the idea that this change is designed to keep people within Google's iOS universe longer. That's true; it's both a self-serving move and user-experience upgrade simultaneously. (As an aside, I wasn't able to find any data about the ratio of Gmail users who rely primarily on the Gmail app vs. the native iOS mail app for Gmail.)</p><p><a href="http://marketingland.com/with-new-gmail-and-chrome-integrations-is-google-trying-to-colonize-ios-devices-42764">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/google-updates-ios-gmail-app-lets-users-link-directly-to-other-google-apps/">Google updates iOS Gmail app, lets users link directly to other Google apps</a> (Digital Trends)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dg0SnCUvFCbZmvMUX3-loFVz0jhdM&ned=us">91 additional articles.</a></p>