If you use Google Chrome and keep the Gmail tab pinned all the time, this is the perfect feature for you. I’ve always hated the fact that when I pin Gmail tabs I can’t see how many unread emails I have. Turns out Manu C from Google had a similar issue and he came up with a Gmail Lab feature that allows you to display the unread email count right on the Gmail icon.
To enable this you need to go to Gmail -> Settings -> Labs. Now look for “Unread message icon” and enable it. A browser refresh generally makes it work but you may need to logout and login to display the icon. This lab feature only works with Chrome (version 6 and above) and Firefox (version 2 and above).
[via Gmail Blog]
One response to “How To See Unread Email Count In Gmail Icon?”
If you’ve used this for sometime now, You would also notice that the icon on the top doesn’t change immediately when there are new emails or you’ve finished reading all the emails.