I'm not sure, but my instinct is that Google's decline had started by then. Sure, they bought their way into email by giving away storage when everyone else was charging for it. But the usability had steadily gotten worse over time. When did the new compose experience launch compared to G+, for example?

Google's slide toward doing wrong started earlier, and you can argue over when, but I'd attribute it to Gmail.

It's one thing to have my search history. It's another to have my search history, identity, and email.

I resisted the pull of Gmail for a long time. Yes, I created an account (to forstall others from doing so, and, oddly, a highly distinctive name proved taken in multiple iterations, or at least unavailable, when I tried registering it). I've simply moved to using email very little.

G+ put the stink in though. I really wanted to like the service. I used it early on, and still do. I wanted it to be the anti- Facebook (which I do not use, or trust).

But multiple from the top decisions made, and still make it, exceptionally difficult to like. Sadly, there's little better (and I've looked).