Google Pulls 'Sparrow' Mail Apps From App Store to Focus on New 'Inbox' App

Google has quietly removed both the iOS and Mac versions of its Sparrow email apps from Apple's App Stores, amid reports the company is shifting to focus more intently on its revamped Inbox by Gmail app (via TechCrunch).

The company bought alternative email client app Sparrow back in 2012 and launched Inbox by Gmail to select users last fall, with a wider release earlier this year.

At the time of its launch, Sparrow offered a unique and accessible email client that made it popular with a wide audience. Google's acquisition saw the Sparrow team focusing on non-Sparrow related projects, and the app's lack of continued developer support saw it nosedive in the App Store rankings in the years since.

Sparrow flying away for good shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but it has been a long time coming. At the time of Google’s acquisition in 2012, reportedly for under $25 million, Sparrow/Google more or less stopped big developments but kept the apps operational and pledged support for existing users.

The Sparrow iOS app never received iOS 8 support and the Mac App was never updated after the acquisition at all, so Google's removal of the apps from the storefront isn't too shocking. Some of that same Sparrow team, including product designer Jean-Marc Denis, have gone on to help Google out with the new Inbox app.

Inbox by Gmail is available to download for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tags: Google, Inbox by Gmail, Sparrow

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

k1121j

61 months ago

is it me or does it seem google has a bit of ADHD it seems to have the attention span of a gnat

Rating: 9 Votes

springsup

61 months ago

They have a billion in cash. They must be doing something right. How about you?

So money makes people right? Rich people never make poor decisions? A poorer person is incapable of a better decision than a rich person? Bad decisions have never been made in rich companies?

Remember that decisions are made 'in' companies, not 'by' them. Companies consist of thousands of human beings who will be responsible for different things, miscommunicate or misjudge things from time to time, and who are, on average, not so significantly richer than you or I that their ideas become infallible. Everybody makes mistakes. Even those with money.

As for Sparrow, the whole reason it exists is because the official Gmail app on iOS is so dreadful that somebody decided to make their own Gmail app. Inbox is interesting, but I wish Google would make a really good, normal, official Gmail app.

Rating: 5 Votes

amirite

61 months ago

Google does this too often. You can't rely on any of their products besides the biggest money-makers.

Rating: 5 Votes

maflynn

61 months ago

Can't say that I'm surprised. The hand writing was on the wall when Google purchased them

Rating: 4 Votes

brendu

61 months ago

They have a billion in cash. They must be doing something right. How about you?

Yeah, comparing a giant corporation's wealth to a single person's is reasonable.... He's right too. Google attempts a ton of stuff and then abandons things quickly when they don't work out fast. It's their prerogative but it frustrates users.

Rating: 3 Votes

69Mustang

61 months ago

This is pure evil. :eek:

Siri

TestFlight

Swell

Lala

Spotsetter

Prss

Matcha

Pure evil. Look at all these companies Google acquired and shuttered. :rolleyes:

Rating: 3 Votes

citi

61 months ago

Email. I hate email. Did I say I hate email.
Somebody kill it already.

Then SOMEBODY should provide a viable business alternative

Rating: 2 Votes

fivedots

61 months ago

No dude, the app does not need open in safari support. You can copy the link using the share button in chrome. Google's focus should be to add full support for interlinking all its apps in its ecosystem on iOS. Linkable phone numbers still do not open in hangouts.

No dude, YOU do not need open in Safari support. I do. Get over yourself.

Rating: 2 Votes

macduke

61 months ago

At this point buying a mail app for iOS is just dumb. I bought Sparrow and it was bought out and never updated. Fantastic. Not only that but I found it not as useful as you can't replace your default mail client on iOS. It was fun to play with though and had a nice interface, which I'm a sucker for. But just don't buy mail apps. It seems like they keep getting bought out and you probably won't find them useful until Apple lets us replace built-in apps. Here's to hoping for iOS 9. My list of features for iOS is very short these days, but that is a big one. Otherwise a Snow Leopard type update would suffice.

Rating: 2 Votes

CFreymarc

61 months ago

is it me or does it seem google has a bit of ADHD it seems to have the attention span of a gnat

They have a billion in cash. They must be doing something right. How about you?

Rating: 2 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]