April 1 is a horrible day for product launch and yet big companies like Google has the guts to make the bald moves. 15 years ago today on April 1, 2004, Google launched Gmail, a web-based email service that had the power of Google Search built right in. It started as a beta release on an invitation-only basis and officially out of beta phase 5 years later on July 7, 2009. Remember those days when people were selling invites on eBay like a dollar each?
I can’t believe I’ve been using Gmail for almost 15 years. It’s been a long ride and a happy one in overall. I never had to worry about the storage, nor missing emails. With the strong search feature, I can always find what I was looking for in a split second. It helped me write a better subject line so I can find them easier years later. It also keeps my inbox clean with the world-best spam killer and has a way for me to report suspected spam when I saw one. Oh, how can I forget the joy of playing those Gmail Labs? With the new AI-powered features such as Smart Reply and Nudges, I can reply emails a lot quicker with less typing.
So, what’s next:
First off, we’re making Gmail more assistive. You may have already used Smart Compose, an AI-powered feature that helps you write emails quicker.
Next up, you can decide when your email gets delivered to someone else’s inbox. Today, we added a new feature that lets you schedule email to be sent at a more appropriate date or time, which is helpful if you’re working across time zones, or want to avoid interrupting someone’s vacation.
Lastly, you can now take action without leaving your inbox. You can respond to a comment thread in Google Docs, browse hotel recommendations and more, directly within emails.
The best line:
We may have launched Gmail on April Fools’ Day, but the last 15 years have been no joke. And we’re looking forward to what’s to come.
https://www.blog.google/products/gmail/hitting-send-on-the-next-15-years-of-gmail/