How I replaced Inbox by Gmail - Trip bundles


Trip bundles in the Inbox iOS app.
In the first episode of this short series, we proposed a Gmail setup to replace the reminder integration functionality of Inbox. Admittedly, it is not as appealing as Inbox in terms of elegance and graphical style , but it gets the job done quite nicely!

 The setup will further improve with the addition of customizable swipes to the Gmail iOS app, so for available only to Android users. This update is supposed to be rolling out as we speak. By the way, today, 3 April 2019, the Gmail iOS update has not yet reached my iPhone. And the Inbox app is still working!

 In this article we focus on the replacement of another beloved feature of Inbox: Trip bundles.

Inbox conveniently created a bundle for each trip, elegantly displayed on the left side of the inbox. One tap and you would get all the details of your reservations, neatly organized, as well as the related email messages below.

How can we replace this functionality after Inbox’s departure? (oh yeah, see what I did there!)

Which trip related features does Gmail have out of the box?

Hotel details in Gmail iOS app.
Hotel details in Inbox iOS app.

On the iOS Gmail app you get to see the details of flight, hotel or car reservation with a similar look and feel to Inbox. However, this happens only when you open the reservation email. That is, unlike Inbox , such emails will look exactly like any other in your list. Moreover, it seems that on the web version of Gmail, this functionality is limited only to flights. Whilst this implementation might sound disappointing, it suggests that the engine parsing the reservation emails is alive and kicking even within Gmail, which is good news for a potential future update.

How can I get other trip related features? The Google Trips App

To get closer to what Inbox offered, you will have to install another app. Ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome to Google Trips! Well, maybe just lukewarm, yet another app... but I must admit it looks gorgeus. Moreover, it goes well beyond storing reservation details and emails. It provides ideas on what to do and even suggests daily plans for your trip.

Which Inbox features are missing?

Well, surely we’ll miss the convenience of having emails and trips info all in one place, together with our emails. Be it in the app or on the web, Inbox provided all in the same interface. Now you will have to use two apps, Gmail and Google Trips. And on the web, oh wait...there is no Google Trip web version! Oh my dear..

Another feature I will miss, is the possibility to manually add and move emails to a trip bundle, bundle. In Inbox, you could just move any email to a trip bundle, in case the algorithm made the wrong guess.

Conclusion

Trip bundling in the after Inbox era leaves a sweet sour taste. Whilst Gmail and Google Trips can replace most features, the missing integration into a single app and the absence of a web version are regrettable.

All in all, I am relatively satisfied with the new setup, but the question to Google remains the same: WHY!?!??!

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