The end of Google Tasks? Google is starting to fold the app into Calendar on Android
- Google Tasks is now part of Google Calendar on Android
- It follows the merger of web apps last year
- Google Tasks may eventually be discontinued as a standalone app
Google has certainly never been afraid to destroy apps and products it is no longer interested in (see Killed by Google for details), and it looks like Google Tasks could be the next app on the chopping block.
The Google Tasks app is now available in Google Calendar for Android, Google has announced (via 9to5Google). Google is positioning this as a benefit – but are we wrong to be a little concerned about the future of the standalone Google Tasks app?
Maybe not, given Google’s history of merging and deleting products, and the way Google Tasks is slowly making its way into other apps — not just Google Calendar, but also Gmail and the Google Assistant.
The Android update follows the addition of Google Tasks to Google Calendar on the web, which took place last year. “This update makes it easier for users to keep track and organize their tasks, especially on the go,” Google said.
The future of Google Tasks
There’s no indication that Google Tasks will be discontinued in the very near future, and we’re reading between the lines a bit here. It is still available for Android and iOS, in addition to being available on the web.
However, as mentioned above, the old Google Tasks website portal is now available takes you to Google Calendar instead. There is a toggle switch in the top right corner that allows you to switch between viewing your schedule and viewing your to-do lists.
It makes sense to have your tasks on your calendar – most of them probably have a due date anyway – but it would be a shame if Google scrapped the separate Google Tasks app altogether. Sometimes less is more, and part of the appeal of Google Tasks is its simple, uncluttered interface.
We’ll have to wait and see what Google’s next move is, but we hope Google Tasks sticks around for many years to come. If anything, it still seems to have more life in it as an independent app than Google Fit.