It's typical of Google to offer many of the same services at once. Just take a look at its messaging platforms: there's Hangouts, there's Allo, there's Duo, and there were other ones which are now defunct, like GChat.

When it comes to to-do lists, the same principle of chaos applies. Google's de facto to-do app is Keep, but it's a general note-taking app, not exclusively a to-do list service, though that's certainly a core feature.

Google Releases Tasks App

As such, Google is going to make its services more straightforward starting with Tasks, an app that's just for to-do lists. Keep isn't going away, it should be noted, but thankfully with Tasks, users will finally get a clearer, more streamlined interface that'll let them pull up their to-do lists without having to sort through tons of notes beforehand. Better yet, Tasks is integrated within some of Google's most important services, including Calendar and Gmail.

Before, Tasks was buried somewhere in Gmail's messy user interface, but now it gets better visibility, thanks to the redesigned Gmail. Users will be able to open a sidebar version of Tasks, and also Keep and Calendar, with just a click.

It makes sense for Google to release a standalone Tasks app, and it's difficult to understand why it hasn't until now. The app itself is barebones and simple, but that's a big part of why it works. The adage "less is more" applies here, and Google makes good use of what little the app offers. For instance, users can create different lists to better sort tasks. Within tasks, users can also add subtasks, details, and choose to add a deadline or move the task to a different list. That's about all the app is able to do, and presumably Google will add more functionalities in time. But in its current state, Tasks performs well as a standard, no-frills to-do list app.

It's Not Excellent, But It's Pretty Good

Tasks is not remarkable by any stretch of the imagination, especially when compared with excellent to-do apps the likes of Todoist, Wunderlist, and even Microsoft To-Do, but where it shines is cloud integration. Tasks is synced to Google's other services, meaning users can access their lists from anywhere.

Google considers Tasks as part of G Suite, a strong implication that it won't be a one-off experimental thing but actually a standard service that will stay for quite a long time, unlike failed attempts such as Spaces. Tasks will definitely be a better service from here on out, but it's already pretty good.

Download Tasks for iOS and Android.