Google has accustomed us a appropriate set of accoutrement to actualize reminders, but we’re still missing a true, able-bodied Google Reminders app. Why?
When Google apparent its cast new Tasks app beforehand this year, my affection skipped a beat. Would this be the all-embracing tasks and reminders app I’ve been cat-and-mouse for Google to absolution for years? Would I assuredly accept an accessible and absolute way to actualize reminders and tasks with all sorts of accessible features?
As you ability remember, that was not the case at all. The bloodless Tasks app feels like a backward abstraction which got tossed calm and appear in a few canicule time. As we know, that’s par for the advance with Google.
While that disappointment stung a bit, I haven’t accustomed up achievement for the tasks/reminders app that I apperceive Google can make. But what is demography so long?
When you anticipate about it, reminders are one of the things smartphones were acutely advised to do. For years, I lived and died by the Tasks area of Outlook. I fabricated admonition tasks for actually aggregate I bare to do throughout my assignment day, no bulk how mundane. My co-workers anticipation I was crazy.
But the Tasks area of Outlook was affiliated to my computer, not my smartphone. I’m abiding Outlook’s app abilities accept appear a continued way in the accomplished few years, but back I got my aboriginal smartphone, there was no way to actualize Outlook tasks and accept my smartphone acquaint me easily. So I bound confused abroad from Outlook tasks and started application apps.
I was never captivated with any of the apps I tried. It wasn’t until 2015 back Google started acceptance users to actualize reminders in Google Now that I absolutely begin what I was attractive for. The Google Now reminders would pop up on my phone, acceptance me to be reminded of things no bulk area I was. They were simple and accessible to create.
A abbreviate time later, Google brought agnate reminders to Google Calendar, acceptance me to both see my reminders laid out in a agenda architecture as able-bodied as actualize new ones appropriate in the app. Eventually, I was accepting reminders on my phone and desktop browser. Yes!
Then Google brought reminders to Google Assistant, acceptance me to actualize alerts application my voice. Now notifications are activity off on my phone, my desktop browser, and my Google Home hardware. I will never balloon anything!
But alike with all these abundant strides in admonition conception and delivery, Google has yet to absolution a standalone app that is alone about reminders. It additionally hasn’t added new capabilities to admonition functions that would accomplish the account alike added basal to my (and I’m abiding abounding added people’s) life. Why not?
With the accepted accompaniment of reminders, I can actualize time-based and location-based alerts in one of three ways: through Google Assistant, through Google Calendar, or in the Google app. Some methods are easier than others, but they all get the job done.
But these reminders I’m creating aren’t actual robust. For example, I can alone ascribe basal argument with no formatting options, not alike bold. I can’t accomplish a list, I can’t actualize hyperlinks… I can’t alike add a band break. I’m not assured a full-on argument editor, but actuality able to at atomic do some bulk of formatting would absolutely be nice.
Once the admonition is created, there’s not abundant I can do with it. I can adapt the date/time of the reminder, accomplish it a alternating reminder, or change the text, but I can’t adapt it in any way. For example, I can’t color-code reminders. I additionally can’t calmly alike reminders, I accept to either set it up as a alternating affair or manually actualize multiples.
In fact, alfresco of Google Calendar, I can’t adapt my reminders in any way at all. I either accept the agenda appearance or a simple account of reminders in the Google app that displays them in adjustment from advancing up abutting to advancing up extreme from now.
When it comes appropriate bottomward to it, Google has accustomed me the best axiological set of accoutrement to actualize reminders, which I appreciate. But aloof brainstorm all the possibilities that a accurate Reminders app could have…
In my vision, I brainstorm a standalone admonition app. If Google wants to still acquiesce the creation/completion of reminders in added apps like it does currently, that’s fine, but a standalone app is necessary.
In this app, I can actualize reminders with a deluge of options. I can stylize text, actualize links, actualize lists, assort reminders, and blush cipher them.
I can alike reminders, change the active notification sound, and set conditions. As an archetype of a condition, I could say I appetite to be reminded to buy milk abutting time I’m abreast a accurate abundance — but alone if I’m there back the abundance is open. That way if I’m walking by the abundance on my way home from a night out, I don’t get reminded to buy milk back I can’t do so.
Perhaps the best important affair of all that I can do with this fantasy Google Reminders app is to allotment reminders. For now, I accept to set reminders to advice me bethink to admonish added bodies about things. This is madness! I should be able to actualize a admonition and again hit “Share,” and again that admonition gets added to the recipient’s agenda (with their approval, of course). I can do this with agenda events, but not reminders. Why?
I’m abiding there are added appearance of this academic Reminders app that I haven’t alike anticipation of yet, but that would all be a agitating start.
Before you draft up the comments area of this commodity to acquaint me about X app that does some of the things I want, or explain to me what Tasker is (trust me, I already know), let me save you the time: I don’t appetite these appearance from a third-party account or to manually actualize a pseudo-app myself. I appetite this Reminders app to be allotment of the Google ecosystem.
The acumen I appetite a accepted Google Reminders app is because reminders are already chip into my Google life. Google Assistant, Google Home, Google Agenda — reminders are all there, and all assignment fine. A third-party app can’t accord me that affectionate of integration, and neither can Tasker.
Google already has aggregate it needs to actualize the reminders app I want. But for whatever reason, it hasn’t fabricated it yet.
Help me Google; you’re my alone achievement (to not balloon important stuff).
NEXT: Google’s amaranthine app overlap: what is activity on?
See Also: hack facebook messengerThe accepted cachet of Google reminders
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