However, there are significant downsides. Desktop clients access Gmail via IMAP, which can be slower than the web interface for search and synchronization. Labels—a core Gmail organizational feature—become awkwardly mapped to folders. Furthermore, Google’s security policies now require "App Passwords" for less secure clients, or OAuth 2.0 authentication (which many older clients lack). Two-factor authentication users may face friction. Finally, desktop clients do not support Gmail’s full feature set: smart inbox categories (Social, Promotions), native snoozing, or the "Nudge" feature are web/PWA-only.
Outlook offers advanced features like Focused Inbox (which separates important email from clutter) and superior rules for organizing your inbox automatically. gmail for desktop windows 10