Few media companies have already started reporting Google’s plan to kill its popular email service ‘GMail’ in coming days. If this is true, it is a very shocking and big news for all Gmail users. But do not just go with the heading of news. I got many questions from friends and followers about this new news surfaced yesterday. So, I thought to make it clear with proper explanation.
Inbox by Gmail
Before I talk about the shutdown of Gmail, I want you to remember ‘Inbox by Gmail‘. Yes, Inbox was the improvement of email service launched by Google last year. Initially, it was an invite only service which came in both as web and mobile app forms. I am not sure if you are still using this, but Google confirmed that Inbox would be the future of email while launching Inbox.
Inbox is a pretty nice concept which aims to keep your emails organized and highlighting information emails. Reminders are also there to remind you about your upcoming flights and events. If you haven’t started using it, I recommend you to give this app a try. You will start loving this new form of email experience.
After working on Inbox for around 14 months, Google is ready for mass deployment of the service. So, it is asking inbox users to completely move to Inbox from Gmail. Many users have seen a pop-up notifications for migration.
Inbox by Gmail is the future of Gmail
As I already discussed how Google is trying to offer better email experience with Inbox. So, you can think it as future of Gmail. IN coming years, Google will try to improve Inbox to offer features which will force you to stop using traditional way of email management. Slowly but Google is trying users to come and check Inbox.Inbox is the future of Gmail and it will surely replace Gmail when most of the Gmail users are comfortable with Inbox. But this is not for sure. If users are not willing to try Inbox, Google will never take this kind of big step to disappoint its millions of users.
Is this the beginning of end of Gmail?
You can think it as beginning of end of Gmail. But it is not 100% true. Google is only asking existing inbox users (who usually access inbox actively) to move their Gmail to Inbox to experience Inbox features. If you see the above notification snapshot, there is also a button saying ‘Turn it off’. So, users already have an option to opt-out. Google also confirms that one can always go back to Gmail from main menu. So, there is nothing like Google is shutting down Gmail.
With this step, Google is just trying users to stop using Gmail and see if they can be comfortable with Inbox for managing their emails. As of now, this is also for limited number of users. Google will only think about shutting down Gmail when there are a considerable amount of users using Inbox without using Gmail. Till then, Gmail will exist.
If you are Gmail user and was worried about reading the eye-catching headline of ‘GMail’s shutdown’, you do not need to worry. Your Gmail is not going anywhere. You will be able to get access to Gmail until, you are ready to use Inbox to replace Gmail. Google will not force you. Gmail is the core service of Google with around 900 million users. Google will not just shut down this service without giving you a better replacement.
