Google released a new email client last week. It’s called Inbox, and it packs several intuitive and enticing features such as built-in intelligent search, snooze buttons, attachment previews, and automatic labeling while maintaining a gorgeous user interface. With Inbox, Google wants to bolster your productivity, and for that it has made several radical changes to the way we approach and deal with emails. But has it succeeded? Let’s find out.
It’s been 10 years since Google launched Gmail, an email client that is now available across all popular platforms and has fielded over 500 million users. Inbox is different. It’s nothing like any other email client out there. It does have a few features taken from here and there, but considering the size of its offerings, those things are only tiny pieces of Inbox.
Inbox reads your emails to categorize them in the right folder
Inbox reads your email to analyze them and move them in the right folder. There is a navigational bar on the left to check these folders. Your email automatically finds its new home in the right folder as soon as it arrives on Inbox. Your flight, train or similar commute tickets find their place in ‘Travel’ section, while all the invoices for the stuff you purchased go directly to the ‘Purchases’ room.
‘Finance’ takes care of your Paypal, Western Union, and other emails from bank and similar institutions, in addition to recharge receipts and other emails, whereas the Social folder will provide shelter to all your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the other social networks you are part of. As the name suggests, all the rest of the emails from other sites, like changes made to their service ToS and weekly email newsletters go to ‘Updates’ folder. ‘Promos’ will carry all the promotional emails, while ‘Forums’ will keep track of all the emails coming from the various communities your have joined on the Internet.
Inbox aims to unclutter the noise. It might not seem useful to you at first, but considering our over reliance on emails, this will hopefully come useful to all, eventually. You don’t always have enough time to find that one email you were looking for, and that’s one of the things Inbox is trying to help you with.
Another interesting feature lets you check out thumbnail previews of all the attachments to an email right below the subject line. You don’t even have to open the email, just navigate through the thumbnails and know whether it is the right email.
Pin, Snooze, Swipe
Inbox knows that not all the emails need to be dealt right away, and the ones that have been checked, should vacate the living room. The best part is that it lets you do that very easily, using gesture features. Swipe right to snooze an email – you can also set the amount of time before you don’t want to be reminded about it again. Swiping left, on the other hand will declare that you are “done” with that email. If required, you can find both such emails in the navigational section at the left.
Inbox also realizes that there are super important emails that you may want to come back again many times. For that, you can go inside that email and click on the nail button. These emails will appear on top of the primary inbox folder, alternatively, you can also check it by clicking on the pin toggle button on top.
Integration with Google Now
Inbox too, much like any other Google app, talks a lot with other Google services. Reminders set in Google Now will automatically find their place in the ‘Reminders’ section of Inbox. Furthermore, if these reminders have phone numbers mentioned in them, Inbox will automatically add a quick phone call option. Similarly, if it is a store’s name, Inbox will give you the relevant information like store’s phone number, availability time etc in real time.
Other neat little features
The Inbox app also follows the Material Design guidelines. Even if you are on the iOS app, you will still notice such design changes. And it makes many things a lot simpler. For instance, if you want to send an email to someone, there is a circular plus composition button at all the sections, upon clicking on which names of the people you frequently send emails to will appear – saving you from the hassle of entering their name. Adding new email account is also pretty simple.
The app is polished quite aesthetically with card like interface. The features are overwhelming, and definitely make the email experience a lot better. However, it might take one a while before getting used to these features, and the all new email interface. We could really see it replacing the good old Gmail app, but that might take some time.
It supports Gmail accounts, and even if you don’t have an invite in your other accounts, you can simply add those accounts in Inbox, and they will automatically get invited.