How to get old icons from Gmail, Calendar or Drive

And you will ask yourself: How? Well, before answering that question, it is necessary to see why Google has come to the situation of changing the logos in several of its most popular and used applications on mobile phones.

Why has Google changed the Gmail or Drive icon

Google announced last October a major renovation of its productivity suite. This change made G Suite became Google Workspace and with it, a new brand and logos for its integrated services. The truth is that the American company is redesigning its services to offer a more updated design and functionality.

The truth is that many users in the community did not like this new design, falling almost like a jug of cold water. Theoretically, there is no way to go back to the old Google icons natively, without resorting to a third-party app. To avoid wasting time, the Uninstall Updates path does not work in the settings, since Google establishes the change permanently and on top of that we are with an outdated version of the app. That does not mean that it is difficult to achieve.

How to go back to old Google icons

Once again, the tool that will solve the ballot for us once again will be a third-party launcher, always much more customizable than the default launcher of the device. As in so many other occasions, we are going to opt for the old reliable one, that is, installing Nova Launcher

. And is that this third-party launcher offers us so many options that it allows us to customize even the smallest detail, including icon design. In the traditional way, native operating systems only offer a couple of styles or three at most.

On this occasion, we will focus on bringing back the old Google icons, more specifically the Gmail one, although this process works for any other Google application or service (Meet, Calendar or Drive, among others). To do this, follow these steps:

1. Download the free app Nova Launcher from Google Play Store.
2. Once the application is installed on your mobile and your home screen is configured as you like, press and hold the icon of the Android app you want to change, for example, the Gmail.
3. When you press and hold, you will see a pop-up menu that includes an “Edit” button. Click on it.
4. Tap on the Gmail icon to replace it with other icons, icon packs that you have installed on your smartphone or with an image of the logo obtained from the internet. To do the latter, we have to access the “Applications” section.