Google Inbox vs Gmail Android App

The battle of two android apps: Inbox vs Google!
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Android based smartphones have access to download two different, but similar apps to access Gmail. The original app is simply called Gmail. Then, they introduced Inbox. My plan is to run a trial session of using both apps simultaneously to identify the pros and cons of Gmail vs Inbox (on my original Moto X). My ultimate conclusion was to delete Inbox and continue using Gmail.

Before I review the results of my little experiment, I'll cover my most common email habits.

  1. I check email on my phone right when I wake up in the morning. The process is simple. I skim email subjects and senders to delete emails that resemble spam or have no interest..
  2. I receive email notifications throughout the day when I get an email.
  3. I always read personal emails and sometimes read online merchant emails.
  4. I always delete online merchant emails, but bills and receipts are labeled and archived.

Hopefully that gives you insight into my email habits. The rest of the results of my experiment are based on these habits. Now for results, point by point.

  1. The main thing I dislike about Inbox is the lack of control. I understand that Google is attempting to  simplify the process by logically grouping together similar emails based on some metric. But to me, I feel like I'm losing control. I find myself ungrouping unrelated emails.
  2. Another downside to the automatic grouping in Inbox is uncertainty on missed emails when archiving groups. Since emails are grouped, when I mark a whole group as archived, I'm not 100% certain there isn't an important email that was incorrectly grouped. In the Gmail app, every email passed hit the may inbox. In a similar batch mode, I could delete the spam.
  3. The Inbox grouped view was very confusing. Because of the grouping, the Inbox app displays images with absolutely no relevance.
  4. What I did like about Inbox was the fancier notifications. Since friends sending me personal emails all had photos, their picture would show up next to the Subject in each notification. Surprisingly, this made it much easier to quickly identify the importance of the email.

The main reason I decided to stick with Gmail and delete Inbox was uncertainty. I mostly enjoy the full control I have over emails in the Gmail app. I may be biased, but I am also more familiar with the standard email inbox style similar to the web interface. The left out many concerns I have with the interface, as I'm certain Google will revamp/update trouble areas.

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