But, that was the first Google product where it really hit home, to me, how even if a product is fantastic and useful, Google will kill it without a second thought.
It fundamentally changed my attitude toward Google and made me far more deliberate about what services I choose to rely on, especially from the big G.
Obligatory link to https://killedbygoogle.com/
I doubt Reader was ever going to be a serious business but maybe there should be a much more explicit execption for the side products your customers love that also don't fit perfectly into the parent companies main business/product dev strategy.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator's_Dilemma?wprov=...
I still use my Android phone, and use maps for navigation and browse youtube online, but I use as little 'account' features as is necessary. If I wanted to switch to iPhone tomorrow, there'd be next to zero migration headaches.