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Tag: notification

  • Google tests new notification dots inside the Google Messages app

    Google tests new notification dots inside the Google Messages app

    Android’s notification dots allow users to see which of their apps has a notification that they have yet to open. With iOS, the number of unread notifications is placed inside the dots. A tipster named Nick Cipriani has revealed how Google is looking to use notification dots inside Google Messages to highlight the messages that the user has yet to open.

    In the latest beta version of Google Messages (version 10.6.240), a bright blue dot can be seen to the right of the time when a message has not been opened. At the same time, the unread message is in bold type similar to how the subject line of unread emails appears in bold print in the Gmail app. The update is apparently being sent out via server-side update so it will be up to you to see if you notice this change when you open the Google Messages app.

    It isn’t clear when or even if this will roll out to all Android users. It might not be a very important new feature since you will still see the notification dot on the home page next to the Google Messages icon alerting you to at least one unread message. That alone should give you the motivation to open the app whether or not you know how many messages are unread.

    Sometimes if the number of unread notifications in an iOS app is too large, you could get overwhelmed with the number of notifications to read and you might decide to skip opening that app completely. Google is known for running through a number of tests which means that not everyone will end up making it to a future build of Android.

  • Inbox gets its official shutdown date and Google lies

    Inbox gets its official shutdown date and Google lies

    Google let Inbox users know quite a while ago that it would be shutting down the app in March 2019 and Google has continually promised that users’ favorite Inbox features would be integrated into Gmail before anyone was forced to leave Inbox. Now, Google has put a specific date on the Inbox shutdown despite that promise not having been kept.

    Inbox users have been getting a pop-up notification for a while reminding them that the app is going away and urging users to try out Gmail, but in the past day, that notification has gotten more specific. Now, the notification gives a more accurate timeline with the number of days left before Inbox is shut down and the countdown points to April 1st. Unfortunately, right after that Google straight up lies to Inbox users by claiming that “You can find your favorite Inbox features in the Gmail app.”

    As an avid Inbox user since the app launched, I can say unequivocally that is a lie. Gmail has gotten options to snooze emails, which is probably someone’s favorite Inbox feature, but that’s about it. Gmail still doesn’t have all of Inbox’s bundles (like Trips), it doesn’t highlight actionable items inline (like attachments, places, etc), it doesn’t have an option to save links to Inbox (instead it added Keep and Tasks to Gmail’s sidebar, which isn’t the same, it doesn’t have an option to quickly archive all items in a group (be it a bundle or a group of messages from a specific day), and Gmail also doesn’t have Inbox’s option to pin messages or notes.

    Maybe Google will surprise us and add all of those features in the next two weeks, but given how slowly features from Inbox have been added to Gmail, it seems pretty unlikely. In the meantime, users are being forced to leave Inbox and unless Google surprises us all with a major upgrade to Gmail, it seems poised to have lied about what Inbox users can expect when migrating to Gmail.

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