Now that the Thunderbird electronic mail shopper has an Android app, the Thunderbird group is lastly setting its sights on iOS. An app beta, obtainable by way of Take a look at Flight, ought to arrive by the top of the yr. Simply do not anticipate an excessive amount of from it.

Thunderbird on iOS: Child Steps

Thunderbird introduced its iOS plans in a brand new progress report. Particulars are slim, however the group is at present engaged on some “fundamental architectural choices” and can arrange a barebones GitHub repo within the coming weeks or months. After hiring a Senior Software program Engineer—interviews are at present underway—Thunderbird will launch a limited-availability app beta by means of the Apple Take a look at Flight program. This app beta is anticipated to reach earlier than the top of 2025.

Constructing an iOS electronic mail shopper from scratch is a particularly daunting job. Thunderbird obtained off straightforward with the Android app, which was constructed on high of the present K-9 Mail shopper, however there isn’t a basis on which to construct an iOS expertise. Consequently, early Take a look at Flight builds of Thunderbird on iOS shall be extraordinarily easy. These early builds could have the power to show emails, however they could not have the ability to ship emails.

Nonetheless, progress is progress, even when it is slow-moving. It is thrilling to see Thunderbird rise from the ashes, and open-source electronic mail purchasers are at all times a welcome addition to the world of iOS.

Upcoming Enhancements for Thunderbird on Android

Whereas the Thunderbird for iOS information is appreciated, it is actually only a footnote on the backside of Thunderbird’s new progress report. The majority of this report facilities round Thunderbird’s Android app, which is rapidly gaining new enhancements, tweaks, and bugfixes.

On the time of writing, Thunderbird for Android’s “account drawer” is form of a large number. It is arduous to distinguish between completely different logins, account icons soar round, and the accounts sidebar is not very helpful to individuals who don’t use a number of electronic mail accounts. So, Thunderbird is sharing mockups of an improved account drawer with extra intuitive layouts and controls (plus the choice to assign photos to electronic mail deal with icons). The group’s response to those mockups shall be thought of by Thunderbird’s design and growth groups earlier than any actual adjustments are applied.

Damaged notifications and gradual syncing in Thunderbird for Android are additionally being addressed. These issues are primarily as a consequence of permissions errors, so the Thunderbird group is looking for a solution to notify customers when crucial permissions are disabled. Tweaks to in-app language, together with obscure phrases like “sync” and “push,” are additionally into account.

Lastly, Thunderbird is working to resolve the Gmail login problem that impacts Okay-9 Mail customers. This drawback, which is brought on by Google’s new auditing and certification necessities for third-party electronic mail apps, doesn’t have an effect on the Thunderbird app (though a similar issue with Microsoft electronic mail accounts troubled Thunderbird early final yr). Sadly, Google is giving “inconsistent data” to the Thunderbird group which will delay their progress on this problem—greatest case state of affairs, remaining Okay-9 Mail customers will regain the power to log into Gmail accounts by the top of March. Migrating to Thunderbird for Android is the best, most instant workaround.

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Maintain a watch out for the subsequent Thunderbird for Android roadmap, which ought to arrive within the coming weeks. The Thunderbird group has proposed a number of new enhancements for the roadmap, together with improved message synchronization performance, HTML signature help, fast filter actions (like the type which can be obtainable on Thunderbird Desktop), and full Android 15 compatibility. Try the brand new progress report to study extra.

Supply: Mozilla