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Launched as an add-on inside Google Workspace apps like Gmail and Google Calendar, Google Duties grew right into a standalone app in 2018. Whereas it has been out for over six years, Google’s process administration app has remained disappointingly fundamental regardless of its integration with the corporate’s productiveness suite on the internet.
Although many process administration apps have included options like challenge administration, calendar integration, and helpful internet extensions, Google Duties has remained simplistic. This method has led informal and energy customers to contemplate different apps for his or her desktops and Android telephones.
5 Misses out on many important options
Feels barebone
Since its introduction, Google has been gradual so as to add new options to Google Duties. Even in 2024, process administration lacks necessities like the choice to insert information, a devoted view to examine all of your due duties for a day (like My Day on Microsoft To-Do), the power to create sub-lists, and extra.
The latter is a significant miss in my books. As an example, if I need to make a watchlist for TV reveals, motion pictures, documentaries, and stand-ups, I must create 4 lists in Google Duties, cluttering the app. There isn’t a approach to create a single checklist and add different related ones below it.
Google Duties would not perceive pure language whereas including duties. As an example, you’ll be able to’t write “Purchase milk at 3 PM tomorrow” and count on the app to set a reminder at a specified time. Including to the confusion, Google means that you can use pure language with the Gemini assistant to create reminders in Duties, however this characteristic is not obtainable inside the app.
The cellular widgets for Google Duties are easy and don’t present a benchmark for third-party builders to emulate.
4 Lack of an internet extension
Hey Google, let me entry my duties from any internet web page!
Google Duties would not have desktop apps for Home windows and Mac, which is okay as most of its apps are web-based. Nonetheless, there are solely a few methods to entry your duties. You should utilize the sidebar on Google Workspace apps or head to Google Duties (a part of Google Calendar).
Google ought to provide a Chromium extension the place a consumer can entry the duties checklist, act on pending to-dos, and create new ones with a single click on within the toolbar on the high. That may be an enormous productiveness booster for many people. The corporate at the moment gives a Preserve extension through the Chrome Internet Retailer, and introducing a comparable software for Google Duties could be well-received.
A number of third-party builders fill the hole with their choices within the Chrome Internet Retailer. Nonetheless, an answer from Google could be more practical.
3 Damaged integration with different Google apps
A success-and-miss scenario
Whereas Google has performed an honest job of integrating Duties with different Workspace apps, it nonetheless leaves a lot to need. Till April 2024, you could not export your Preserve reminders to Duties. Fortunately, Google introduced that it might change the habits sooner or later.
Now, you’ll be able to examine your upcoming duties on Google Calendar. Nonetheless, Google Duties misses out on calendar view, which will be inconvenient at instances. Most third-party process administration apps provide a calendar view by default.
Google ought to discover the combination of Duties with Docs. You possibly can already add checkboxes with date and time chips in Google Docs, and it might be helpful to maneuver these to-dos with related particulars to Google Duties.
2 Lacks collaboration
Cannot share your Christmas procuring checklist together with your higher half
Google’s productiveness apps are identified for easy real-time collaboration. Whether or not you need to collaborate on a Preserve notice, Docs paperwork, Slides presentation, or a Sheets spreadsheet, the corporate’s glorious sharing instruments are solely a click on or faucet away. Nonetheless, the identical is not obtainable on Google Duties, which is a big omission for a process administration app.
Google Duties would not enable a number of customers to work on the identical process checklist concurrently or share particular person duties with collaborators. When you may have a grocery or journey checklist in your Duties account, you will need to depend on exterior communication channels to get the job performed, which is not handy. Such a evident miss makes Duties much less interesting for households and groups.
1 Competitors is method forward
Apple and Microsoft blow Google out of the water
Let’s speak about Google Duties’ competitors. I am not referring to huge names like Todoist or TickTick however moderately the duty administration apps from Apple and Microsoft, that are extra superior. The Reminders app, for instance, helps good lists the place you’ll be able to set filters so as to add duties to it routinely, a Kanban board view, real-time collaboration, the power to save lots of an inventory as a template, and extra.
Microsoft To-Do additionally will get the fundamentals proper with sub-lists, an choice to insert media information, an attractive background, and a My Day part. Google’s resolution feels half-hearted as compared.
The Google Duties overhaul we’d like
As somebody who prefers to remain in Google’s ecosystem of apps and companies, I desperately need Google to rethink its method with the Duties app. It has an enormous potential, and with a number of characteristic boosts, Duties can provide a run for cash to its rivals like Microsoft To-Do, Reminders, and extra. In case you are in search of a Google Duties different, take a look at our devoted submit to seek out the highest to-do apps on Android.