I think this hints at the future of "electronic mail".
Since email is used for everything from long highly personal missives to "your packaged has shipped" to "SALE! SALE! SALE!" it makes no sense to present all of them in a single list without distinction.
Better to separate them out and display them in a manner that makes sense wrt their content: personal stuff in a traditional inbox, promotions shown as an easily scannable ad-like format, and transactional / notification messages maybe as a stack of cards with action buttons ("confirm subscription").
Comments
I think this hints at the future of "electronic mail".
Since email is used for everything from long highly personal missives to "your packaged has shipped" to "SALE! SALE! SALE!" it makes no sense to present all of them in a single list without distinction.
Better to separate them out and display them in a manner that makes sense wrt their content: personal stuff in a traditional inbox, promotions shown as an easily scannable ad-like format, and transactional / notification messages maybe as a stack of cards with action buttons ("confirm subscription").
More cynically, it's also a great way to get people to tolerate high-value google ads in their inbox.