Like many individuals, I used Thunderbird to handle my e-mail accounts all through the 2000s and early 2010s. However Mozilla virtually gave up on the shopper someday between 2012 and 2015, forcing me to seek out one thing new. Now, as a part of Thunderbird’s revival, Mozilla is lastly bringing the e-mail shopper to Android gadgets.
Utilizing Thunderbird right this moment is like leaping in a time machine—it’s fairly outdated. However that isn’t essentially a nasty factor. The Thunderbird app is extremely light-weight when put next with trendy, Electron-based e-mail shoppers. It’s additionally tremendous customizable, backed by an enthusiastic neighborhood, and has a powerful 19-year monitor file for consumer privateness.
These options are very fascinating in 2022, which is why Mozilla is lastly giving Thunderbird some consideration. Recent updates, a new business plan, and an enormous inflow of money promise to make Thunderbird’s desktop shopper respectable once more, however to ensure that this plan to work, Thunderbird must make its cellular debut.
That’s why Mozilla has obtained the rights to K-9 Mail, an open-source e-mail shopper that aligns with Thunderbird’s mission. As an alternative of constructing a Thunderbird app from scratch, Mozilla will remodel Ok-9 Mail into Thunderbird for Android. It would supply most (if not all) of the options you care about, together with message filters, account auto-configuration, “unmatched customization,” and syncing with the desktop shopper.
Mozilla will slowly replace Ok-9 Mail with Christian Ketterer (often known as cketti), who at present maintains the app. As soon as it has some important options, equivalent to desktop syncing, Ok-9 Mail will develop into “Thunderbird for Android.” (The rebranding ought to occur someday in 2023.)
Updates to the Ok-9 Mail app could also be a bit unpredictable, with main alterations to options and the UI. However if you wish to expertise its transformation, you’ll be able to install K-9 Mail in your Android smartphone or pill right this moment. Mozilla additionally hopes to carry Thunderbird to iOS, although it’s specializing in Android first.
Supply: Mozilla