Developer(s) Google Operating system License Freeware | Development status Active Type Email client | |
Initial release October 22, 2014; 2 years ago (2014-10-22) (invitation-only)
May 28, 2015; 21 months ago (2015-05-28) (public) | ||
Inbox by Gmail is an email service developed by Google. Announced in limited invitation-only basis on October 22, 2014, it was officially released to the public on May 28, 2015.
Contents
Made by the same people who work on Gmail, Inbox serves as a "completely different type of inbox, designed to focus on what really matters."
Through "bundles" that gather emails of the same topic together, "highlights" that surface key details from messages, and "reminders, assists, and snooze" functionality that enable users to control when specific information appears, the service intends to improve email productivity and organization. Inbox by Gmail has apps available for Android and iOS, and a website available for Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari web browsers.
Features
Inbox by Gmail scans the user's incoming Gmail messages for information. Google advertises several distinctive features of Inbox, including:
Inbox gathers email messages related to the same, overall topic to an organized bundle with a title describing the bundle's content. For example, flight tickets, car rentals, and hotel reservations are grouped to "Travel", giving the user an easier overview of emails. Users can also manually group emails together in order to "teach" Inbox how the user works.
Inbox highlights key details and important information in messages, such as flight itineraries, event information, and photos and documents. Additionally, Inbox can retrieve updated information from the Internet, including real-time status of flights and package deliveries.
Inbox allows the user to set reminders to surface important messages at a later time. At times when a user needs particular information, Inbox can assist the user by surfacing the needed details. For those times when Inbox highlights information not needed at the time, users can snooze a message or reminder, with options to make the info reappear at a later time or at a specific location.
In June 2015, Google added an "Undo Send" feature to Inbox, giving users 10 seconds to undo sending a message.
In November 2015, Google added "Smart Reply" functionality to the mobile apps. With Smart Reply, Inbox determines which emails can be answered with a short reply, generating three example responses, and enabling users to send one with a single tap. Initially only available on the Android and iOS mobile apps, Smart Reply was added to the Inbox website in March 2016, along with Google announcing that "10% of all your replies on mobile already use Smart Reply".
In April 2016, Google updated Inbox with three new features; Google Calendar event organization, newsletter previews, and a "Save to Inbox" functionality that lets users save links for later use rather than having to email links to themselves.
Reception
David Pierce of The Verge praised the service, writing that it's "minimalist and lovely, full of layers and easy to navigate. It's remarkably fast and smooth on all platforms, and far better on iOS than the Gmail app". However, he criticized the app's low dense of information, writing that only a few emails are visible on the screen at a time, making it "a bit of a challenge" for users who need to go through "hundreds of emails" every day. Although positive that "Inbox feels a lot like the future of email", Pierce wrote that there's "plenty of algorithm tweaking and design condensing to do", with particular attention towards a "compact view" for denser view of information on the screen.
Sarah Mitroff of CNET also praised Inbox, writing; "Not only is it visually appealing, it's also full of features that help you find every message you need, when you need it". She added that users must "give up the control" to organize their email, adding that "won't jibe with everyone", but admitting that "if you're willing ... the app will reward you with smarter and cleaner inbox." Mitroff did note that, initially, users must coach the app about which bundle is appropriate for some emails, writing that "It's a tedious process at first, by [sic] in just a few days Inbox starts to get it right." Regarding any downsides of the service, Mitroff wrote that "Inbox has a built-in strategy for managing your emails that works best on its own. Anyone who already has a system for organizing their emails will likely find themselves fighting Google's system".