By default, the little bold number in parenthesis next to your inbox should get higher if a new message comes in -but it's hard to see it change.
If you want to be notified when a new email arrives while you are composing one or reading one, turn on desktop notifications.
- Go to your mail settings (click the little gear on the top right, choose: Mail Settings).
- Make sure you are viewing the General settings. You should be by default.
- Look down the page for Desktop Notifications.
- Click the radio button for "New mail notifications on
– Notify me when any new message arrives in my inbox"
Now a little pop up will be displayed as you get new messages. You'll see a little snippet of the message too.
Is there a way to display unread inbox messages in the sidebar of Gmail?
