After two years of work, Google has today presented its new take on one of the oldest forms of communication through the internet – email, used in various forms since the mid-1960s – with its latest app called Inbox, according to an announcement made through the official Google blog. Inbox was created by the same people who gave us Gmail, but it’s not Gmail – according to the announcement, it’s a completely different type of inbox, designed to focus on what really matters.
Email has evolved a lot in the last 30 years. Today you can use your phone’s internet connection to contact anyone in the world, and after three decades of evolution there are new challenges to overcome. Now we get much more email than even five years ago, and a large proportion of it is not really important – and sometimes important things get buried deep below the loads of useless messages. For some email has become a daily burden, and browsing through the endless stream of useless messages is a burden. Well, Inbox is for them – for all of us.
Inbox will have a series of features that build upon what we already use, but making it better. Gmail’s categories were taken one step further, giving birth to the Bundles used by Inbox – these group together messages that are similar, like bank statements or purchase receipts, making them easier to review and swipe away. Highlights will gather all important information from important messages, like event information, flight plans and more, in one place, adding relevant information to them – like the current status of the flights in question. Together with Bundles, these two features offer users all the information they need, at a glance.
Inbox will also double as a to-do list, allowing its users to add their own Reminders, keeping them in the same place. Reminders will work together closely with Assists, handy pieces of information needed to get the job done, and Snooze – yes, just like on an alarm clock, users will be able to postpone emails and Reminder to handle them at a later time.
Inbox is currently only available for those invited – Google has sent out the “routine invites” to its usual contacts, while others can request invitations through sending an email to inbox@google.com.