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Google says, 'No changes to Inbox by Gmail,' so relax

Google weighed-in on the status of popular email app Inbox by Gmail. In brief, you don't have to worry about Inbox going anywhere yet.
By
April 24, 2018
TL;DR
  • The imminent rollout of the Gmail refresh has people concerned that Inbox by Gmail will be discontinued.
  • Google weighed in on the matter and confirmed that Inbox by Gmail would not be affected by the Gmail update.
  • It is possible that Google intends to use Inbox to test new features before rolling them out to the main Gmail app.

With the imminent release of the revamped design of Gmail, the question on many people’s minds is this: will an updated Gmail spell the end for the Inbox by Gmail app?

Google, via Computerworld, took the time to weigh-in on the matter. Here is what the company has to say about its beloved email app:

“With respect to the upcoming Gmail announcement, there are no changes to Inbox by Gmail. It remains a great product for users with specific workflows and one in which we test innovative features for email.”

Hopefully, that will help assuage the fears of many when it comes to Inbox.

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If you read between the lines, Google might be telling us that it intends to keep Inbox around as a sort of testing grounds for Gmail. After all, one of the main reasons people think Inbox is doomed to be discontinued after the revamped Gmail rolls out is because it’s rumored that Gmail is integrating many Inbox features. That would make Inbox irrelevant.

But what if Inbox’s relevance to Google is based on the idea that fewer people are using it, so Google can test out new features on a smaller user base before rolling it out to the Gmail crowd? After all, the difference in adoption of the two apps is significant; as recently as 2016, it was estimated Gmail has one billion active monthly users. Inbox likely has only a fraction of that.

Even if this theory is correct and Google will use Inbox as a pseudo-beta program, it doesn’t ensure Inbox will live forever. Google’s statement above distinctly leaves out any assurance that Inbox will be around for a long time; it merely says that the upcoming Gmail announcement won’t result in any changes to Inbox.

Do you use Inbox instead of Gmail? How would you feel if Google took Inbox away? Let us know in the comments!