Gmail Android vs Gmail iOS: CSS Support Differences
Gmail Android renders with Gmail Mobile; Gmail iOS renders with Gmail Mobile. They share a rendering engine, so the 78 disagreements across 298 verified features are configuration and version, not architecture.
Support data derived from caniemail.com (MIT) - last synced Sep 2, 2026 - engine data v0.12.2
98
work in both
the safe intersection
3
only in Gmail Android
breaks in Gmail iOS
2
only in Gmail iOS
breaks in Gmail Android
73
partial on one side
renders, with caveats
Works in Gmail Android, breaks in Gmail iOS
Each of these needs a fallback if the send reaches both.
Works in Gmail iOS, breaks in Gmail Android
Partial on one side
These render in both, but one client applies caveats the other does not. They fail quietly, which makes them the expensive ones.
- <base>
- <body>
- <button type="reset">
- <button type="submit">
- <form>
- <input type="reset">
- <input type="submit">
- <meter>
- <progress>
- <rp>
- <rt>
- <ruby>
- <select>
- <strike>
- <style>
- <ul>
- <wbr>
- [background]
- [required]
- @media
- !important
- background-blend-mode
- background-clip
- background-origin
- background-size
- box-shadow
- calc
- clamp
- clear
- css-comments
- display
- fit-content
- float
- font-size-adjust
- gap
- html5-semantics
- linear-gradient
- list-style
- margin
- max
- min
- mix-blend-mode
- object-fit
- object-position
- overflow
- radial-gradient
- rgb
- rgba
- system-ui
- text-align
- text-decoration
- text-decoration-color
- text-indent
- text-overflow
- text-underline-position
- unit-initial
- white-space
- word-break
- writing-mode
- :adjacent-sibling
- :attribute-selector
- :chaining
- :child-combinator
- :class-selector
- :descendant-combinator
- :general-sibling
- :grouping
- :hover
- :id-selector
- :type-selector
- :universal-selector
- display:flex
- display:grid
A further 122 features render in neither client. Not a difference between them, but the other half of the answer to what you can actually use, so the four counts above deliberately do not sum to 298.
Where the divergence sits
Two pairs with the same headline number can be different problems. For these two it concentrates in CSS Properties.
- CSS Properties 35
- HTML Elements 18
- Pseudo-Classes & Selectors 12
- CSS Functions 7
- CSS At-Rules 2
- HTML & Email Structure 2
13 of these already have a fix
Each links to a copy-paste snippet that keeps the feature working in Gmail iOS without dropping it in Gmail Android.
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Questions
- How different are Gmail Android and Gmail iOS?
- They disagree on 78 of the 298 features verified in both clients, or 26%. 98 features render in both and are the safe intersection to build on.
- What works in Gmail Android but not Gmail iOS?
- 3 features, including <dialog>, @media orientation, anchor-links. Each needs a fallback if the send reaches both clients.
- Which engines are these two clients using?
- Gmail Android renders with Gmail Mobile; Gmail iOS renders with Gmail Mobile. Where two clients share an engine the divergence is usually configuration, and where they do not it is the engine itself.
- Is this measured in the real clients?
- No. These are documented support levels derived from caniemail.com (MIT-licensed), carried in @emailens/engine data version 0.12.2 and last synced Sep 2, 2026. That sync date is not a test date: caniemail's own per-feature tests run from Feb 28, 2019 to Jul 13, 2026. Anything described as a transform is applied per those documented rules rather than captured from a real client.
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