If you paid close attention to the Apple App Store on Wednesday, you might've noticed that a native Gmail app was available for download — for a very brief time period. The app offered push notifications, speedy inbox searches, simple photo uploads and plenty of other improvements and features not available on the mobile web version of the email service.
So what happened to this wonderful sounding app? Why was it only available for a short while?
Well, it turns out it wasn't quite so wonderful.
Shortly after Google announced the availability of the Gmail app, complaints started flooding in.
Some simply didn't like the app's interface, others found it impossible to use multiple email accounts with it, and most saw error messages upon launching the app.
Simply put: The app was more of a headache than it was worth for most people.
It didn't take long for the folks at Google to react to the overwhelming complaints. They quickly pulled the Gmail app from the Apple App Store and posted a note on the official Google Blog to explain its disappearance:
Earlier today we launched a new Gmail app for iOS. Unfortunately, it contained a bug which broke notifications and caused users to see an error message when first opening the app. We’ve removed the app while we correct the problem, and we’re working to bring you a new version soon. Everyone who’s already installed the app can continue to use it.
There are no details regarding how long it will be until Google's got a new version of the Gmail app ready or how long it will take for that to get through the Apple App Store approval process. But quite frankly I think everyone involved should just go ahead and take their sweet time on this and hand us a usable app next time around.
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