Samsung Email vs Gmail: Which Is Better?

Samsung Email and Gmail are both feature-rich email apps used by millions of people. Which of the two should you choose?

Samsung Email has a more attractive user interface, though Gmail has a clean UI some users prefer. Both support multiple email accounts and switching between them. Samsung Email provides cool features like split view and more sync options, while Gmail has things like Undo Send and Smart Compose/Reply.

There’s a lot more to comparing the two – keep reading!

What is Samsung Email?
What is the difference between Gmail and Samsung Email?
Should I let Samsung email have access to Gmail?
Can I delete Samsung email app?
Can I use Gmail instead of Samsung Email?
Do you need a Google account for Samsung Email?
What is Samsung Outlook?
Where is the Samsung Email app?

What is Samsung Email?

Samsung Email is an email client app included in Galaxy devices which allows you to access your email from various email service providers, including Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft (Hotmail, Outlook, Exchange, and Office365), and others.

You add multiple personal or work email accounts in the app and their settings as per your requirements. The app comes with features such as:

Personalized user experience with customizable email notifications
Email sync options such as email sync period
Encryption and digital signing of emails using the widely recognized S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) protocol
Better management of email folders and spam addresses
Support for IMAP and POP3 for personal email accounts
Thread and conversation view for emails

What is the default email app on Samsung?

Your Samsung Galaxy device likely includes both the Gmail app and the Samsung Email app. Many people use the Gmail app which is the default on Android devices.

In Samsung’s latest Galaxy devices, you will also find the Microsoft Outlook email client app pre-installed along with Gmail.

If you glance through the app settings of your phone, the option to set the default email app is not there. That said, you can certainly move your chosen email app’s icon to the Home screen for quick access to your emails.

What is the difference between Gmail and Samsung Email?

Gmail is Google’s official email client app preloaded on Android devices. The following table highlights some key differences between the Gmail app and the Samsung Email app:

	Gmail app	Samsung Email app
Email Sync Settings	Syncs email based on number of days e.g. 30 days	Provides more options such as syncing email based on size, period, and schedule (such as every 15 minutes)
Writing suggestions and suggested replies	Has Smart Compose and Smart Reply features	Doesn’t have these features
Email sorting	Doesn’t have a sorting feature by default to sort emails in different ways	Email can be sorted by various criteria such as date (most recent and oldest)
Ads display	Ads can appear in the Social and Promotions category of emails.	The app doesn’t show ads in any category of emails.
Signature in emails	The app has support for only plain text as a signature.	The app supports a customized signature and can include images and formatted text.

Pros and cons of Gmail vs Samsung Email

Gmail app

Has an Undo Send feature that can be used after an email has been sent.
Supports multiple accounts and switching between them.
Supports dark mode.
You can start and join video calls in Gmail app through the Meet tab.
Doesn’t show the number of unread emails when the app is opened. Unread emails are highlighted in bold only.
You can choose only one action when swiping left or right on an email, e.g. delete.
You can only reply to and archive emails through the app’s notification.

Samsung Email

Supports multiple accounts and the ability to switch between them.
Shows the number of unread emails when the app is opened.
Supports dark mode
Has an enhanced scroll bar to scroll up and down by date.
Has a split view for viewing the emails in landscape mode when you rotate the screen.
Through the app notification, you can mark an email as read, reply or delete it
You can choose one of 4 actions when swiping left or right on an email.
Doesn’t support the Undo feature after an email has been sent.
Email notifications may take longer to appear as compared to when using the Gmail app.
Has full MS exchange support, also syncs Exchange calendar.
Easy to backup to PC with Samsung Smart Switch if you don’t trust cloud services.
Has simple manual data manipulation, exporting importing etc
Integrates with the Samsung ecosystem which gives more control to the user than Google in terms of data and privacy

Samsung Email:

Gmail:

Should I let Samsung email have access to Gmail?

The Samsung Email app needs permission to access your Gmail account after entering your Google account credentials. Without this, you won’t be able to send, receive and delete emails in your Gmail account using the Samsung Email app.

Thus, you should allow access if you want to use Samsung Email to access your Gmail messages.

You can verify that you are using Gmail in Samsung Email through the following method in a computer browser while you are logged in to your Google account.

Click on your account initials or profile picture and go to Manage your Google Account.
Click on Security. Find the section named “Third-party apps with account access”.
The Samsung Email app should be listed here. If you no longer trust or use it, you can remove its access here.

Why does Samsung Email want access to Gmail?

As stated above, you can use the Samsung Email app to log in and access your emails from different service providers including Google’s Gmail.

In 2019, users of the Gmail app received an auto-generated email from Google that led to widespread confusion. The message stated “Samsung Email was granted access to your Google Account”.

The reason for this message was that Google had made changes to its authentication policy and brought a new security protocol into effect. Samsung subsequently updated its email client information with Google servers to fix the authentication issues.

Gmail app users, meanwhile, believed that their accounts were compromised. Nowadays though, the issue has been fixed and Samsung Email can be granted access to Gmail if necessary without issue.

How do I get rid of Samsung access for Gmail?

In light of the issue described above, Samsung clarified to its users that there was no need for concern.

For most users, it was found they allowed permissions to access Gmail from the IP addresses of their Samsung devices. This meant their accounts were not compromised. Samsung further released a fix for the issue.

Can I delete Samsung email app?

You can uninstall the Samsung Email app on most Samsung smartphones like you would for a normal Play Store or Samsung Galaxy store app. It is not a system app on those devices since it can be uninstalled.

That said, not all Samsung devices allow you to uninstall the Samsung Email app, as it’s made a system app on those devices so the option to uninstall it isn’t available.

If you don’t need the Samsung Email app, you can take one the following approaches:

Uninstall via settings

Navigate to Settings>Apps and tap on Email from the list of apps.
On the app page, look for the Uninstall option and tap on it. The app will be uninstalled and the app data will also be deleted.

Uninstall via Play Store or Galaxy Store

Open Play Store or Galaxy Store on your device.
Type Samsung Email in the search bar.
Tap on the first result and then select Uninstall from the options provided.

If the option to uninstall Samsung Email is not available, you can or disable or Force stop it in the following way:

Navigate to Settings>Apps and tap on Email from the app list.
At the bottom, tap Disable or Force Stop. Confirm the action in the prompt that appears.

If you want to shut down the app completely, then you should select Disable as this option deletes the app data, uninstalls its updates, and removes the app icon from the app drawer. You will have to enable the app again in app settings if you want to use the app later.

If the disable option is greyed out or not available, then you are left with the Force stop option which prevents the app from running in the background until you open it again.

Can I use Gmail instead of Samsung Email?

You can certainly use the Gmail app instead of Samsung Email. Some users favor the Gmail app while some find the Samsung Email app better.

Whichever app you use, you should generally stick with one app for an email account to get the most out of its features.

If you are logged into your email account in the Samsung Email app, you can switch to Gmail through the following way:

In the main screen of Samsung Email, tap on three lines on the left and then select the Settings icon on the top.
Tap your account and then select Remove in the next screen that appears. Select Remove in the prompt that appears.
Open the Gmail app and tap on your account initials if you are already signed in to another email account.
Tap on Add another account.
Choose your email service provider and follow the on-screen instructions. You will be required to enter your email and password that you were using in the Samsung Email app.

If you have many work-related or personal email accounts, one option is to use Gmail for personal ones and Samsung Email for work accounts, or vice versa.

This gives you an option to manage personal and office accounts distinctly and pay more attention to work-related emails.

Do you need a Google account for Samsung Email?

Samsung Email is an email client through which you can connect to email accounts from different email service providers. You only need a Google account if you want to use your Samsung app to access Gmail.

If you don’t use Gmail, you can use the Samsung Email app to access other email accounts such as Yahoo, Microsoft, or email accounts provided by your web host for example. In this case, you don’t need a Google account.

Obviously, you’ll need a Microsoft or Yahoo account to have a Hotmail or Yahoo mail account that you can access from the Samsung email client.

What is Samsung Outlook?

The Microsoft Outlook app is a pre-installed email app in Samsung’s latest smartphones including the Galaxy lineup.

This is part of the ongoing partnership between Microsoft and Samsung to further integrate Microsoft apps including Outlook and Office with Samsung Galaxy phones.

Like the Samsung Email app, the Outlook app comes with many salient features like Focused Inbox and integrated calendar. It also supports accessing email from service providers like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others.

You can also download the Microsoft Outlook app from Play Store if it’s not already installed.

Where is the Samsung Email app?

It’s possible that you’re unable to find the Samsung Email app on your phone. Some Samsung Galaxy phones don’t have the app pre-installed and you need to install it separately. You can download the Samsung Email app from either the Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store.

If you get an error saying the app is not compatible with your device, try downloading the Samsung Email apk file from a reputable apk download site (e.g. APKMirror), and install it manually on your Samsung device.