In 2014, Google launched an app called Inbox by Gmail. This was designed to introduce new innovations to the way we manage emails, and lived alongside Gmail. Now, four years on, Google has decided to cull Inbox so that Gmail can flourish unopposed.

Inbox Secedes to Gmail

For those who use it on a daily basis Inbox is the app Gmail should have been. Inbox made the laborious task of managing emails easier, even on the go. It was easy on the eye, and offered innovative features to make emailless of a chore.

Google rolled out a major update to Gmail in April 2018. And with most of the best features of Inbox now present and correct in Gmail, Google considers Inbox to be surplus to requirements. Google explains its reasons for killing Inbox in a post on The Keyword:

"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."

Realizing that this is going to upset Inbox users, Google has created a guide to moving from Inbox to Gmail. While it's pretty short and sweet, it details the Inbox features now in Gmail and offers alternatives for those features which aren't. Yet.

Reports suggest that no one from the Inbox team is being laid off, so the same people who built and managed Inbox will now be working on improving Gmail. Which hopefully means Google will continue to experiment with the business of email management.

Make Email Great Again

With almost all of the best features of Inbox now integrated into Gmail, this shouldn't be too much of a wrench for Inbox users. After a period of adjustment they should find the new Gmail perfectly adequate for their email needs.

However, Inbox has proved to be a fertile testing ground for new features, and that's where we're likely to feel the loss. Unless Google is planning on experimenting with new email features directly in Gmail, email may be about to become boring again.