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> Google wants developers to write the logic once in Java, transpile it to other platforms, and then make the UI natively using the SDK for each platform. That way the apps look and feel native to the platform they're on, and the UI should run a lot more smoothly.

The article seems to suggest that GWT is being (should be?) used for logic only. If the Web UI is sluggish, it probably isn't GWT's fault (disclaimer: I'm not a Googler & I have never looked at the Inbox code)

It's not just GWT - I get the feeling that web apps in general are noticeably slower than native apps when they attempt the same level of animation and full-page transitions.

I don't know about GWT, but certainly Inbox in Chrome desktop feels much more sluggish than the app on my Android phone.

GWT generates very performant code, even in high-CPU scenarios like hashing/encryption (and please don't spam the Matasano article about dangers of encryption in JS - it is not relevant here).