Apple versus Google Contacts

PommePourMoi wrote:

if I turn on Contacts for the gmail.com account, will it pull contacts from my Google contacts? (This is what I want it to do.)

Yes

I do not want my gmail.com email account to use my Apple contacts, and I do not want to mix together my Apple and Google contacts. I intentionally keep them separate.

In that case, you should probably find some other solution. Maybe try a 3rd party email app for Google. Perhaps Google has such a thing.

The problem here is that all of this will work seamlessly and easily. But that doesn’t sound like what you want. When you are choosing contacts, you won’t be able to easily tell them apart. You would have to either manually click on the Groups button and turn off one set, or add some indicator to each contact so you can tell them apart.

PommePourMoi wrote:

I have all my work contacts in Google Contacts, and all my personal contacts in Apple Contacts. Guess I'll have to get around to merging them one day.

You don't have to merge them, and you probably shouldn't. My point was that the iOS Contacts app will show them all in one big list, effectively merging them. But if you have one personal contact named "Sarah Jane" and different work colleague named "Sarah Jane", then you won't be able to tell them apart.

As far as my iPhone is concerned, I really want my Google Contacts (but not my Apple Contacts) to show up in the Google Voice app. But haven't managed to figure out how to do that.

Anything Google should all default to everything Google. If you don't allow Google Voice to access your iOS Contacts, then the only contacts it will be able to see using your Google account will be your Google contacts.

Google has its own Gmail app in the App Store. Just use that. Download it from here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gmail-email-by-google/id422689480

Use Apple apps for your personal world and Google for your work stuff.