Regular folders have their use, and I do use them to categorize incoming emails for different workflows.

However, when querying the massive archive of 'old' messages, ability to dynamically slice&dice them in pre-configured ways is indispensable:

- Regular folders are of little use here, as a single email may be relevant in more than one saved search.
- Using labels for this purpose is too hacky (this is not what labels are for), and can lead to tens or even hundreds of labels without proper ways of structuring them (e.g., no sub-labels).

Adding saved searches (a.k.a. smart folders) seem like a strictly additive change, as it is logically unlikely that they will interfere with existing features and data structures.

I wholeheartedly vote for this.

I second this. I find that most of the use cases I use the labels for would be much better handled by savable searches. In fact if I had to choose between savable searches, folders and labels I would prefer the searches.

Like smart folders in Apple Mail, right? Nice idea.

I like Label function but I would like to be able to search/filter for Labels within existing folders/Labels, and save that search/filter. This would make it easier to manage my email.

But part of the reason I like this service is that its' not bloated with useless features like other services to keep a small number of users happy.

And it's a great service but disappointed with the negativity from people's comments. IMO, if you don't like it that much, don't use it!