Samsung Mail vs Gmail Android: CSS Support Differences
Samsung Mail renders with Samsung; Gmail Android renders with Gmail Mobile. The gap runs almost entirely one way: 92 features work in Samsung Mail and break in the other, against 7 in the reverse direction. Build for the stricter one and the permissive one follows.
Support data derived from caniemail.com (MIT) - last synced Nov 10, 2026 - engine data v0.18.22
101
work in both
the safe intersection
92
only in Samsung Mail
breaks in Gmail Android
7
only in Gmail Android
breaks in Samsung Mail
81
partial on one side
renders, with caveats
Works in Samsung Mail, breaks in Gmail Android
Each of these needs a fallback if the send reaches both.
- <audio>
- <bdi>
- <marquee>
- <picture>
- <svg>
- [aria-describedby]
- [aria-labelledby]
- [hidden]
- [loading]
- [srcset]
- @font-face
- @keyframes
- @media device-pixel-ratio
- @media hover
- @media prefers-color-scheme
- @media prefers-reduced-motion
- @supports
- accent-color
- align-items
- animation
- backdrop-filter
- block-size
- border-image
- border-inline-longhand
- clip-path
- color-scheme
- custom-properties
- filter
- flex
- flex-basis
- flex-direction
- flex-wrap
- grid-template-columns
- hyphenate-character
- hyphens
- inert
- inline-size
- justify-content
- list-style-image
- margin-block-start-end
- margin-inline-start-end
- mask-image
- max-block-size
- max-inline-size
- min-block-size
- min-inline-size
- orphans
- outline-offset
- overflow-wrap
- padding-block-start-end
- padding-inline-start-end
- pseudo-class-nth-last-of-type
- resize
- scroll-snap
- shape-margin
- shape-outside
- tab-size
- text-decoration-skip-ink
- text-decoration-thickness
- text-shadow
- text-underline-offset
- text-wrap
- transform
- user-select
- visibility
- white-space-collapse
- widows
- z-index
- ::after
- ::before
- ::first-letter
- ::first-line
- ::marker
- ::placeholder
- :checked
- :first-child
- :first-of-type
- :focus
- :focus-visible
- :focus-within
- :has
- :lang
- :last-child
- :last-of-type
- :link
- :not
- :nth-child
- :nth-last-child
- :nth-of-type
- :only-child
- :only-of-type
- :target
Works in Gmail Android, breaks in Samsung Mail
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>
- <meter>
- <object>
- <progress>
- <rp>
- <rt>
- <ruby>
- <strike>
- <style>
- <ul>
- <video>
- <wbr>
- [background]
- [command]
- [popover]
- [required]
- [target]
- @media
- !important
- background-blend-mode
- background-clip
- background-origin
- background-size
- border-inline-individual
- bottom
- box-shadow
- calc
- clamp
- clear
- conic-gradient
- css-comments
- display
- float
- font-size
- gap
- html5-semantics
- left
- light-dark
- linear-gradient
- list-style
- margin
- max
- meta-color-scheme
- min
- mix-blend-mode
- nesting
- object-fit
- object-position
- overflow
- position
- radial-gradient
- rgb
- rgba
- right
- system-ui
- text-align
- text-decoration
- text-decoration-color
- text-indent
- text-overflow
- top
- transition
- 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 16 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 297.
3 of 300 features have no confident data point for at least one of these clients, so they are excluded from every count above rather than assumed either way.
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 92
- Pseudo-Classes & Selectors 31
- HTML Elements 20
- HTML Attributes 10
- CSS At-Rules 8
- CSS Functions 8
22 of these already have a fix
Each links to a copy-paste snippet that keeps the feature working in Gmail Android without dropping it in Samsung Mail.
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Questions
- How different are Samsung Mail and Gmail Android?
- They disagree on 180 of the 297 features verified in both clients, or 61%. 101 features render in both and are the safe intersection to build on.
- What works in Samsung Mail but not Gmail Android?
- 92 features, including <audio>, <bdi>, <marquee>, <picture>, <svg> and 87 more. Each needs a fallback if the send reaches both clients.
- Which engines are these two clients using?
- Samsung Mail renders with Samsung; Gmail Android 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 0.18.22 and last synced Nov 10, 2026. That sync date is not a test date: caniemail's own per-feature tests run from Feb 28, 2019 to Sep 16, 2026. Anything described as a transform is applied per those documented rules rather than captured from a real client.
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