Good for you. 9999 out of 10,000 people don't know what a "gmail web UI" is, or even that there's something called email that is separate from the gmail web interface.

True, and 10-20 years ago this seemed like a transitional issue: the world of technology was new and humanity needed time to adapt. Today I feel like some of this should be taught at school. Stuff like what is a browser, what is TLS, what are cookies, what is an email, what is phishing, etc. I know schools used to teach people Excel, Word and other office programs. Maybe they still do, and web should be a part of that curriculum.

Anecdotally, most of the non-tech-savvy people in my life use gmail via Apple's Mail app on their phone or iPad.

Same. I know so many people who just use Apple Mail and don’t even know that there is or why they would use the gmail app.

Pretty sure most people access their mail on their phone or tablet these days, either using a service-specific app, or a generic app like Apple Mail. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if many Gmail users had never used the web interface at all.

> web interface.

Bold of you to think they know what is this.

I have seen enough people who wholeheartedly though the things in their phone stays in it and you lose access to them if you move to another phone.

You didn't read the post you responded to.

The above poster is not talking to end users about the web interface. The poster is talking to you. About the fact that end users don't separate the interface from the thing.

You are making the same argument with the same language to someone that made the same point.