Google will start testing Inbox for Google Apps next month

Google today announced it is finally bringing its Inbox email service to Google Apps … next month. To add further frustration for enterprise users eager to try the Gmail replacement, the company says Inbox will only be available to “a small group,” though “the program will continue to expand over the coming months.”

To toss in your hat for a chance to get access, you’ll have to email inboxforwork@google.com from your Google Apps for Work administrator account. That’s just applying for an invitation; you’ll only get into the early adopter program if Google chooses you (no criteria was given).

Google’s Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai hinted last week that Google Apps users would finally get access “imminently.” Let’s just say he has an odd definition of the word.

Six months after launching Inbox, Google says it wants to learn about Google Apps customers’ needs, challenges, and use cases in relation to email. Oh, and the company also threw in some grandiose statements as well:

Inbox wasn’t created to reinvent email, Inbox was created to help you reinvent the way you get things done. This means we need to understand more about how things get done (or don’t) today. And with your feedback, who knows, we could reinvent the way people work.

Google eventually hopes to replace Gmail with Inbox. Still, the company said it will be listening to user feedback and will not make such a move unless its users want Inbox over Gmail.

Upcoming Inbox features include integration with other email systems (Outlook.com, Yahoo), the option to change the mobile app’s notification sound, being able to download all attachments, Gmail’s Undo Send feature, the ability to customize Snooze times, support for multiple email addresses, signatures, better Google Calendar integration, and Google Drive integration. Google Apps support is of course also on the list, though Google doesn’t have a date as to exactly when it will be available to all.

You can read our hands-on of Google’s latest email service here. If you’re not a Google Apps user but still want Inbox, you can request an invite by sending an email to inbox@google.com or asking a friend who has already gotten in.