No matter what kind of phone you use, a lot of us are pretty dependent on Google for organizing our lives. Luckily, you can actually get Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Voice, and other services working great with iOS—it just takes a little bit of setup. Here's what you need to do.
Obviously, if you're really entrenched in Google services, your other option is to just use Android—after all, Android has a lot of features you can't get on iOS. However, iOS has its own specialties, and if you have your heart set on iOS' fantastic interface and app library, there's no reason being a Gmail user should hold you back.
Sync Gmail with iOS Mail
When it comes to Gmail, we think Sparrow ($3) is the best way to get your email on iOS. Seriously, buy it now. It has everything that makes Gmail great: support for labels, the ability to archive and delete messages, and a fantastic interface designed to work with the iPhone.
However, if you absolutely have to have the iOS integration that only Mail can provide (not to mention push notifications, which Sparrow doesn't have), you'll need to do a bit of extra work. Here's how to properly add Gmail as an Mail account in iOS:
Open the Settings app and go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the Add Account button and choose Gmail from the menu.- Enter your Gmail address under both Email and Username, and type your Gmail password into the Password box. (If you use two-step authentication—which you should—you'll need to use one of Google's application-specific passwords here.) Type in anything you want for Description (I used "Gmail").
Tap the Next button and flip the Mail switch to On if it isn't already. You can also turn Calendars on if you so desire (more on this later)
Now, if you open the Mail app, you should see your Gmail inbox. By default, pressing the Delete button archives a message instead of deletes it. If you want to change that behavior, open iOS' Settings, go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars, open up your Exchange account, and change "Archive Messages" to "Off".
There are actually two ways to set up Gmail in Mail: The Gmail method (listed above), and the Exchange method (which we'll use to sync our Contacts in the next section). The Exchange method does offer a few advantages: It automatically syncs all the messages in your account, lets you use the aliases you've set up in Gmail (if any), and uses push to notify you of new messages instantly. However, flagging doesn't seem to work at all, which is a deal killer for most of us. As such, we've chosen to use Gmail, but if you need aliases, you can set up an account using the Exchange method below.
Sync Google Contacts with iOS Contacts
If you want your Gmail contacts available on iOS without having to sync them with your computer, you can set up a Microsoft Exchange account on your iPhone that will sync them over the air:
- Open the Settings app and go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the Add Account button and choose Microsoft Exchange from the menu (not Gmail).
- Enter your full Gmail address (
user@example.com) in both the Email and Username boxes, and enter your Gmail password for Password. (If you use two-step authentication—which you should—you'll need to use one of Google's application-specific passwords here.) Leave the Domain box blank and type in anything you want for Description (I used "Exchange"). 
Click Next. You should see the spinning wheel, and then a new box will pop up for "Server." In that box, type m.google.com and then tap Next. iOS should successfully create the new account for you.- When prompted, flip the Contacts switch to On.
Now, if you head into the Contacts app, you should see all your Google contacts right there. If you make any changes on the iPhone, the changes will sync back to Gmail on the web, and vice-versa.
Sync Google Calendar with iCal (and Others)
You can use the aforementioned Exchange method to sync your calendars, but it won't let you sync their colors, which can be confusing if you have a lot of calendars. For Calendars, we recommend using the same Gmail method we used for our email. If you already set up Gmail using this method, skip to step 3 below.
- Open the Settings app and go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the Add Account button and choose Gmail from the menu.
- Enter your Gmail address under both Email and Username, and type your Gmail password into the Password box. (If you use two-step authentication—which you should—you'll need to use one of Google's application-specific passwords here.) Type in anything you want for Description (I used "Gmail").
- Tap the Next button and flip the Calendars switch to On if it isn't already. Be sure to switch Mail off if you're using the Exchange method for your Gmail.
Now, if you head into iCal, you should see your main Google Calendar events. If you want to sync your other calendars, head to your computer and go to this page. From there, you can select which calendars sync down to your iPhone. Check their boxes, click save, and reopen iCal. You should see that all your other events appear.
This method should also work with other calendar apps that get their info from iCal, such as Week Cal (our favorite calendar app for the iPhone).
In short, we recommend having two different accounts set up in your settings: One Exchange account for your Mail and Contacts, and one Gmail account for your Calendars. We've found that this recipe makes for the most accurate synchronization within each service.
Set Up Google Voice with Messages
The free, official Google Voice app on iOS is pretty great. You can read your text messages and voicemails, star important ones, make calls, and even create a quick dial list of your favorite contacts. However, its notification system isn't very good (since you have to open the app to sync the unread status of messages). GV Mobile+ ($3) is also good, adding the ability to message groups, edit your forwarding numbers, and even send picture messages (sort of). However, it takes a lot of work to set up notifications.
If you want the best possible Google Voice experience on the iPhone, you'll need to jailbreak and install two tweaks from Cydia: Phone GV Extension ($3) and SMS GV Extension ($3). The Phone extension integrates Google Voice with the iPhone's default dialer, so you can dial out from the Phone app and by clicking phone numbers in other apps. The SMS extension lets you send and receive Google Voice texts from the default Messages app, which means better notifications and the ability to use iMessages with your iPhone-using friends. If you aren't jailbroken, the official Google Voice app is more than good enough, but these jailbreak tweaks are definitely the best way to get Google Voice working on your iPhone.
For more info on all of these apps and tweaks, check out our guide to improving your Google Voice experience on the iPhone.
Pin the Google Maps Webapp to Your Home Screen
The pre-installed Google Maps app hasn't updated in forever, and it's been replaced by a completely new, Apple-designed Maps app in iOS 6. If you want more than just basic maps features—like Google Maps' saved locations, transit and biking directions, and an autocomplete-enabled search for nearby businesses. If you want a true Google Maps experience on iOS, you just need to pin their webapp to your home screen like so:
- Open up Safari and head to
maps.google.com. - Click the share button at the bottom of your screen, and choose "Add to Home Screen".
- Give your icon a name and it should load the iOS-optimized icon for Google Maps. Place it on your home screen wherever you like.
That's it. It isn't as smooth as a native app, but you'll get all the features of Google Maps—not just the ones in the toned-down iOS app—right at your fingertips.
Everything Else
These aren't the only Google services that deserve a spot on your iPhone, but these instructions should get you most of the way there. If you use Chrome on the desktop, then Chrome for iOS is the perfect mobile browser. you can sync all of your bookmarks, search history, and passwords, and it also has many of the features that desktop users have come to love, like Incognito Mode. Google Reader users should check out Reeder, and Google Drive users should (obviously) download the Google Drive app. Google Mobile can also be handy for voice-activated search. Whatever your Google needs, you can probably meet most of them on iOS without too much trouble, and get the best of both Apple and Google together.
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