Gmail iOS
Gmail on iOS uses the same sanitization pipeline as Gmail Web and Android , <style> blocks are stripped, classes are rewritten, and media queries are ignored. The iOS version renders slightly better in some edge cases due to WebKit's influence on the container, but the limitations are functionally identical.
Popular among iOS users who prefer Gmail over Apple Mail. Often used in personal and small-business contexts.
CSS coverage profile for Gmail iOS
Gmail iOS renders with the Gmail Mobile engine and supports 106 of 298 tracked CSS and HTML features fully, with 59 partially supported and 133 unsupported. That places it in a narrow coverage band.
Most modern CSS is unsupported. This client effectively requires a separate, table-based fallback path for any non-trivial layout.
106
Supported
59
Partial
133
Unsupported
298
Total
Key gotchas in Gmail iOS
<style> blocks Stripped entirely. Inline styles only.
@media queries
See details
Ignored. Use fluid layout with percentage widths.
Web fonts (@font-face) Gmail iOS strips @font-face declarations. Only system fonts render reliably.
How Gmail iOS renders email
- Gmail iOS renders inside a WebKit container, so basic CSS interpretation skews modern, but Gmail's sanitizer pipeline still strips <style> blocks and rewrites classes the same way it does on web and Android.
- Custom fonts loaded via @font-face are usually stripped , supply system-font fallbacks at every level of typography.
- iOS-specific viewport meta directives (e.g., -webkit-text-size-adjust) help prevent Gmail's auto-text-resizing from altering display sizes.
- Image proxying through Gmail's CDN can add a brief load delay on the first open of a campaign , design for placeholder-friendly rendering before images resolve.
Dark mode behaviour in Gmail iOS
Follows the device's dark mode setting. Gmail applies its own color inversion algorithm, similar to the Android version. Results can differ slightly from Gmail Android due to iOS-specific rendering.
QA checklist for Gmail iOS
- Test layout at iPhone SE width (375px) and iPad Mini (744px) viewports , Gmail iOS spans both phone and tablet.
- Verify -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% prevents Gmail's auto-typography enlargement on small text.
- Inspect link colours in dark mode , Gmail iOS inverts color but not text-decoration, which can leave underlines mismatched.
Related clients
Breaks here, works nearly everywhere else
7 features that Gmail iOS drops while most other clients render them. This is usually what is behind an email that looks correct everywhere but here.
Renders here, dropped almost everywhere else
Safe in Gmail iOS and almost nowhere else, so it needs a fallback the moment the send is not Gmail iOS-only.
Where Gmail iOS is weakest
- CSS Properties 97
- Pseudo-Classes & Selectors 34
- HTML Elements 26
- HTML Attributes 10
- CSS At-Rules 10
Closest client: Gmail Android
Gmail Android agrees with Gmail iOS on 91% of verified features. They still differ on 27: <button type="reset">, <button type="submit">, <dialog>, <form>, <input type="reset">, <input type="submit">, and 21 more.
Side by side
HTML Elements48
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| <abbr> | Supported |
| <acronym> | Supported |
| <address> | Supported |
| <audio> | Unsupported |
| <base> | Partial |
| <bdi> | Unsupported |
| <blockquote> | Supported |
| <body> | Partial |
| <button type="reset"> | Partial |
| <button type="submit"> | Partial |
| <code> | Supported |
| <del> | Supported |
| <dfn> | Supported |
| <dialog> | Unsupported |
| <div> | Supported |
| <form> | Partial |
| <h1> | Supported |
| <hr> | Supported |
| <img> | Supported |
| <input type="checkbox"> | Supported |
| <input type="hidden"> | Supported |
| <input type="radio"> | Supported |
| <input type="reset"> | Partial |
| <input type="submit"> | Partial |
| <input type="text"> | Supported |
| <link> | Unsupported |
| <marquee> | Unsupported |
| <meter> | Unsupported |
| <object> | Unsupported |
| <p> | Supported |
| <picture> | Unsupported |
| <pre> | Supported |
| <progress> | Unsupported |
| <rp> | Unsupported |
| <rt> | Unsupported |
| <ruby> | Unsupported |
| <select> | Partial |
| <small> | Supported |
| <span> | Supported |
| <strike> | Partial |
| <strong> | Supported |
| <style> | Partial |
| <svg> | Unsupported |
| <table> | Supported |
| <textarea> | Supported |
| <ul> | Partial |
| <video> | Unsupported |
| <wbr> | Unsupported |
HTML Attributes22
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| [align] | Supported |
| [aria-describedby] | Unsupported |
| [aria-hidden] | Supported |
| [aria-label] | Supported |
| [aria-labelledby] | Unsupported |
| [aria-live] | Supported |
| [background] | Partial |
| [cellpadding] | Supported |
| [cellspacing] | Supported |
| [command] | Unsupported |
| [dir] | Supported |
| [height] | Supported |
| [hidden] | Unsupported |
| [lang] | Supported |
| [loading] | Unsupported |
| [popover] | Unsupported |
| [required] | Unsupported |
| [role] | Supported |
| [srcset] | Unsupported |
| [target] | Unsupported |
| [valign] | Supported |
| [width] | Supported |
HTML & Email Structure8
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| amp4email | Supported |
| anchor-links | Unsupported |
| doctype | Supported |
| html-comments | Supported |
| html5-semantics | Partial |
| image-maps | Supported |
| mailto-links | Supported |
| meta-color-scheme | Unsupported |
CSS At-Rules10
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| @font-face | Unsupported |
| @import | Unsupported |
| @keyframes | Unsupported |
| @media | Partial |
| @media device-pixel-ratio | Unsupported |
| @media hover | Unsupported |
| @media orientation | Unsupported |
| @media prefers-color-scheme | Unsupported |
| @media prefers-reduced-motion | Unsupported |
| @supports | Unsupported |
Pseudo-Elements6
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| ::after | Unsupported |
| ::before | Unsupported |
| ::first-letter | Unsupported |
| ::first-line | Unsupported |
| ::marker | Unsupported |
| ::placeholder | Unsupported |
Pseudo-Classes & Selectors34
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| :adjacent-sibling | Partial |
| :attribute-selector | Partial |
| :chaining | Partial |
| :checked | Unsupported |
| :child-combinator | Partial |
| :class-selector | Partial |
| :descendant-combinator | Partial |
| :first-child | Unsupported |
| :first-of-type | Unsupported |
| :focus | Unsupported |
| :focus-visible | Unsupported |
| :focus-within | Unsupported |
| :general-sibling | Partial |
| :grouping | Partial |
| :has | Unsupported |
| :hover | Unsupported |
| :id-selector | Partial |
| :lang | Unsupported |
| :last-child | Unsupported |
| :last-of-type | Unsupported |
| :link | Unsupported |
| :not | Unsupported |
| :nth-child | Unsupported |
| :nth-last-child | Unsupported |
| :nth-of-type | Unsupported |
| :only-child | Unsupported |
| :only-of-type | Unsupported |
| :target | Unsupported |
| :type-selector | Partial |
| :universal-selector | Partial |
| :visited | Unsupported |
| pseudo-class-active | Unsupported |
| pseudo-class-default | Unsupported |
| pseudo-class-nth-last-of-type | Unsupported |
CSS Functions8
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| calc | Partial |
| clamp | Partial |
| conic-gradient | Unsupported |
| fit-content | Partial |
| linear-gradient | Supported |
| max | Partial |
| min | Partial |
| radial-gradient | Supported |
CSS Properties162
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Support data last updated Sep 2, 2026 - synced from caniemail.com (MIT) via @emailens/engine.