Ask HN: Why doesn't Google update Gmail anymore?

6 points·rrggrr··6 comments

I'm increasingly using 3rd party services to enhance Gmail (eg. Mixmax, 3rd party task managers). Gmail went from iterating rapidly to no major upgrades in several years. Why?

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Gmail is the legacy interface, Inbox is the modern interface. Gmail still exists specifically for people who don't want any major change, so it makes sense that it's not seeing major change.

I very much like Inbox. Shame about the speed, hopefully they get that sorted but haven't seen much in the last few months.

Very likely because Google is acutely aware of how many people will leave if they do. Gmail is an incredibly powerful, versatile mail client which has a ton of custom options like the density of the lists, that you'll find missing in all of Google's newer apps.

Inbox by Gmail was intended to be the new version of Gmail, and they decided to make it a separate site after the internal backlash against the Gmail team by other Google employees for "ruining" Gmail.

If you want the newest, Googliest version of Gmail today, use Inbox. And then there's Gmail, for those who want a dependable, stable email client that has all the features that people have come to depend on over the past decade.

Gmail works well. Sometimes, it is good to follow "don't fix what is not broken" rule.

But out of curiosity, what would you like to see in gmail as an update ?

There are also a lot of businesses that do not want the GMail interface to change.

For example, Yesware, Hubspot For Sales, and ToutApp are all built on top of GMail probably using the gmail.js library - and I'm sure there are a lot more.

I'm not sure they have the clout to keep Google from changing, but it's something for them to consider.

inbox.google.com

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