Google is determined to ruin Gmail

I have never had a particularly strong feeling for email clients. It did not bother me then Mailbox shattered, and I barely took a look when Google Inbox crashed. I had Gmail. It was not much – but it was more than enough for me. It was simple and easy to get, and that’s all it took.

It is still readily available. But it will not be much simpler. Google is making remarkable changes to Gmail – and not for the better.

A month ago, the company outlined plans for its biggest redesign ever, a move that would turn the email app into an “integrated workspace” with separate tabs for email, conversations, shared files and meetings. Well, the Big G has just started rolling out this new experience – and I absolutely hate it.

Google’s new vision practically franks Gmail into a terrible fusion of Meet, Tasks, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides. What was once a clean email client will soon be transformed into an all-in-one solution that lets you manage your email.

Here’s what it looks like:

The release is currently exclusively limited to G Suite users, but writing is on the wall.

In fact, the company already gave regular users a taste of what it’s all about with the addition of a dedicated Meet tab at the bottom of Gmail a few days ago. Fortunately, you can disable that. But my fear is that this will not always be the case – especially if the Big G thinks it’s softer to like the new user interface (read: accept).

(Update 16:30 UTC As indicated by a Google rep, this piece incorrectly suggests that the changes will take effect within weeks after the regular app. For now, only the Meet tab is integrated with Gmail. “We are actively thinking about how and when we should bring this experience to the consumers who may want it,” Google told TNW when asked about the ability to add Rooms and Chat.)

We’ve seen other technology giants do the same. When Twitter unveiled its redesign, a number of user-agent spoofers that brought you back described the old look. Twitter tolerated those extensions for a while, but it eventually started to block them, eventually forcing its new aesthetic on all of us.

I’m sorry Google might be pulling Twitter with the new Gmail as well.

The Mountain View Behemoth says the new integrated experience is designed to improve focus, productivity and easy collaboration, but my concern is that it will dispel the mystery of emails.

There’s a certain wonder that comes with Gmail notifications. They immediately build up anticipation and expectations – is it a job offer, yet another removal notice, a spammy newsletter, or maybe a message that was never even meant for you? It is a trigger that you want to pick up your phone and check your email.

But that dynamic is now on track with the new design. Soon enough, the Gmail logo may flash on your screen every time someone shares a document or posts a conference call. It’s not like we did not receive any emails before, but at least we got the mystery and bliss to hope for more than that.

I also doubt that the real motive behind this unholy integration is to take advantage of Gmail’s popularity to create more engagement for less popular Google products, especially Tasks and Meet.

Do not get me wrong, with over 105 million installations between these on Android alone, Meet and Tasks are not only unpopular apps, but their user base has pale in comparison to Gmail’s 5 billion installations.