Now that Microsoft Exchange email works with Gmail on all Android devices (previously this was limited to Nexus phones and tablets), this will ensure you can get feature enhancements and bug fixes without waiting for an Android system update.
The transition is accompanied by a few new features: support for out of office replies, rich text formatting, event forwarding, and support for the latest version of ActiveSync (EAS 16).
I wasn’t able to locate the app inside the Play Store app yet, as Google apps tend to roll these updates out slowly, but you can find it on the web or at APK Mirror.
The impact on you: If you want the full Exchange experience your best bet is probably still the official Outlook for Android app or one of the many good third-party email apps. But it’s handy to use Gmail with Exchange as it can serve as your all-in-one email hub. This update indicates that Google is likely to ramp up the Exchange performance and capabilities of Gmail on Android.