Yes, the major public clouds offer a lot. But what you may not know are the limitations, and how open clouds make the difference. Elevate your enterprise data technology and strategy at Transform 2021. Google today announced that it is killing off Inbox by Gmail at the end of March 2019. This is Google’s six-month notice: Users trying to access Inbox after March will be unceremoniously redirected to Gmail. Google introduced Inbox by Gmail as a limited invitation-only email service in October 2014. The company mainly used it as a place to experiment with new email ideas like snoozing emails, Smart Reply, Nudges, and high-priority notifications. Four years later, Google has decided it doesn’t need the service anymore. In April, Google redesigned Gmail with a slew of new features, many of which were first tested as Inbox experiences. Google says everything in Inbox by Gmail has already been ported over to the new Gmail, save for one feature. Trip bundles, which groups travel emails like flight, hotel, restaurant, and car rental reservations together into Trips, is the last one standing: It is also going to be brought over to Gmail eventually. Going forward, the company says it will solely develop Gmail, invoking the word “focus” whenever it kills a product or service: “As we look to the future, we want to take a more focused approach that will help us bring the best email experience to everyone,” the company said. We asked why Google can’t keep Inbox by Gmail around for testing even more new email ideas. There was no straight answer, but the new Gmail has an “experimental features” section under Settings where users can opt-in to test new features before they’re ready for prime time — Smart Compose is the first such feature — which is how Google will test new email ideas going forward. For those who use Inbox instead of the new Gmail, Google has created a transition guide to help them switch. Since Inbox is really just another user interface for your Gmail account, you don’t need to transfer anything, just sign into Gmail and get used to the new interface. Back in December 2014, lead designer Jason Cornwell answered a question about whether Inbox would replace Gmail by saying: In the short term, no. In the very long term, we hope so. Inbox is something new — that’s why we’re launching it as a separate product. We care deeply about Gmail and Gmail users, but in the long run as we add more features to Inbox and respond to user feedback we hope that everyone will want to use Inbox instead of Gmail. Ultimately, our users will decide. It looks like ultimately users picked Gmail, or at least Google did.<doc-sep>NEW A vastly improved search engine helps you find the latest on companies, business leaders, and news more easily.<doc-sep>Google is killing off Inbox by Gmail app, and it will be shut down in March 2019. For Inbox fans, this is the worst possible news. Google is killing off Inbox by Gmail app, and it will be shut down in March 2019. For Inbox fans, this is the worst possible news. It’s official: Google is killing Inbox, the app that promised to change the way you use email, by March 2019. The announcement has not been met with joy by many loyal users, and there’s good reason for it. After all, the app does have close to 10 million downloads on Android. “Over the past 4 years you’ve helped us make email better. We’ve brought popular Inbox features to @Gmail helping 1B+ people get more done. Thank you. We’ll be focusing on Gmail & saying bye to Inbox at the end of March 2019. Here’s a transition guide…,” reads the tweet. This has a link to a transition page. But for loyalists, this is not good enough. As someone who switched entirely to Inbox by Gmail, the news is devastating. Right now, I cannot think of an app that comes close enough to the Inbox experience. Whatever Google might claim, Gmail does NOT have all those features, and certainly not Inbox’s great user interface. I’ve relied on Inbox to manage my Gmail for the last three years, and it has definitely made my life easier. What I particularly love are the bundles. Ask any Inbox user. We love bundles. Inbox just knows that those flight tickets, hotel bookings for my trip three months in the future need to go into one bundle, which is then marked as Trip to XYZ with the upcoming date showing. The card format visualization of each upcoming trip is absolutely refreshing, and that is how email needs to be done. When I expand, say a Trip to Bangkok, it displays a visual snapshot of the city on top, and below this are emails related to the journey. The bundle reflects travel dates, and flight number as well. Read more: Google says it is shutting down ‘Inbox by Gmail’ app by March 2019 Not only does it look beautiful, it works well. At least I know all my emails related to the trip are automatically going in one bundle, instead of having to search for them. And Inbox does this with other emails as well. All my purchases are in one bundle, with a card displaying the dress I bought, when it was dispatched, delivered or even returned. The same goes for my credit card bills, finances, mobile phone bills. This user interface reflects emails in a modern design, and shows all the information the user needs to see. With Inbox gone, kiss goodbye to all those stunning bundles of upcoming trips, purchases. With Inbox gone, kiss goodbye to all those stunning bundles of upcoming trips, purchases. Then, there are all those promotional emails and mails from social media websites, that I will never open. All of these end up in bundles called Promotions and Social respectively. I have the option of just marking these mails as done, and they will be archived or deleted in one go. Of course, there’s a chance that sometimes I might delete something that matters, thinking I am marking it as done, but that has rarely happened to me with Inbox. I believe Inbox made dealing with email easier. I could pin stuff that’s really important, and mark the rest as done. Or snooze a mail and then fix a time for when I want to reply. Anything in Snooze ends up in a separate tab, which is separate from the inbox. Sadly, Google will soon take away all of this from me and other users in March 2019. And I’m not the only person who feels this way: Will Gmail do this? Because I’m looking at Gmail right now, and it isn’t doing this. I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO THE STONE AGE. pic.twitter.com/BrwcLZaCPY — Joshua Blanchard (@JTMac) September 12, 2018 I think killing @inboxbygmail is a mistake. It’s well loved. Trying to switch back to Gmail the last couple of days has just left me sad. It’s just not nearly as good of an experience. — Henrik Joreteg (@HenrikJoreteg) September 14, 2018 Noooooooooo why are you killing @inboxbygmail, why? 😭😭😭 I could go back to @gmail but I WANT my bundles, cannot do without them — Thomas Bouron (@eltibouron) September 14, 2018 Hey @inboxbygmail is there a hashtag yet for people lobbying to save google inbox? #savegoogleinbox? #inboxbygmailisbetterthangmail? — Nathan McQueen (@mcqueenna) September 13, 2018 now that Apple’s event is over, let’s all take a moment for Google Inbox 🎺⚰️💀📧 pic.twitter.com/BaKXfp8snV — dan seifert (@dcseifert) September 12, 2018 The recent reviews of the app on Android are all in praise of it, and express their sadness about it shutting down. But the shutting down of Inbox follows the long-established trend of Google killing some of its most hyped products. Remember Google Wave, Google Reader, Google Glass, Project Tango which had the smartphone world excited for some time, Project Ara, and Nexus phones? The list is long, and Inbox will soon be on it. But this one will hurt. There’s no online petition to save Inbox yet, but do not be surprised if one turns up. And if it does, I will definitely be signing on it.<doc-sep>With the launch of the new Gmail earlier this year, many questioned the future of Inbox, the company’s experimental email client. Today, Google announced that Inbox by Gmail will be discontinued next year. According to Fast Company, Inbox will shut down by March 2019. Google has since confirmed, adding that it’s taking a “more focused approach” with just one email solution for all users. As we look to the future, we want to take a more focused approach that will help us bring the best email experience to everyone. As a result, we’re planning to focus solely on Gmail and say goodbye to Inbox by Gmail at the end of March 2019. This is in contrast to what Google said just this past April, following the unveil of a revamped Gmail. It also comes as Google finally added iPhone X support on iOS in July. Given the duplicity of features, there has been much discussion in recent weeks about the future of Inbox. Today, Google provided Computerwold a comment noting that there are “no changes to Inbox by Gmail” in light of the new Gmail. Inbox by Gmail launched in October 2014 to fanfare and an invite system. It was aimed at providing a more personalized and smarter email management experience with features like Bundles grouping together receipts, statements, and other related messages. Highlights surfaced relevant email content right on the app’s home screen. However — over the years — as especially highlighted with the new Gmail, many of those experimental features were integrated right into Google’s primary email app. For example, Smart Replies are a tentpole of the just revamped website, having long been available on Gmail for Android and iOS. Other features now available in Gmail include email snoozing, follow-up Nudges, and hover actions on the web to quickly archive and mark as read. Earlier this year, Google said Inbox remained a “great product for users with specific workflows” and suggested that it would remain a testbed of sorts for “innovative features.” However, new features like Smart Compose that use machine learning to write out entire messages was launched directly in Gmail. While Inbox had its followers and active users, it never caught on to a wider and more general audience. For example, it had an interesting take on email management that emphasized always archiving messages. There’s no reverse chronological list, while many used the app as a glorified reminders list. On its transition support guide, Google offers replacements for pinning emails (starring, custom labels, search) and reminders (Google Tasks or Keep). Meanwhile, Google told The Verge that grouped emails — similar to Bundles — are eventually coming to Gmail, but did not specify when. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:<doc-sep>
Google will shut its Inbox app and service in March 2019. Users will have to switch over to using the company's Gmail app and service before that date. The Inbox team tweeted, saying "Over the past 4 years you’ve helped us make email better. We’ve brought popular Inbox features to Gmail helping 1B+ people get more done. Thank you. We’ll be focusing on Gmail & saying bye to Inbox at the end of March 2019." The Inbox team at Google is part of the wider Gmail team. The Verge reports that no job losses will result from the closure of the Inbox service. (Image: Google) Inbox offered a new way to use Gmail, it categorised emails and helped remove marketing emails so that they didn't distract from more important messages. It was also able to help you keep track of trips by scanning for travel information. Flight information, train times and hotel bookings could be amalgamated into one handy itinerary automatically. The service also kept track of online purchases, giving you records of what you had bought and enabling you to quickly find past purchases and details about how much you paid, when things were delivered. Inbox launched in October 2014 on an invitation-only basis and expanded to a wider release in May 2015. It was designed to make email a more productive and user-friendly experience. While Inbox was innovative at the time, many of its features have been merged into the standard Gmail service. A major update to Gmail brought many of Inbox's features to Google's standard email service, including snoozing emails and a connected tasks list. The Google Play store says the Inbox app has been downloaded more than 10 million times since launch. The Gmail app, on the other hand, has 1 billion downloads and is included with most Android devices sold. Google has a long history of closing services that it doesn't consider popular. Users who have come to rely on them often react angrily when it does. Some, like Twitter user Pixel Geek aren't looking forward to switching to Gmail. Inbox isn't the first product that Google has introduced with the intention of making email more usable for people. In 2009 it launched Google Wave as a communication and collaboration service that would merge email and instant messaging. It was eventually closed in 2012.