Mozilla’s Thunderbird Email Client Is Coming to Android

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 consumer 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 consumer to Android gadgets.

Utilizing Thunderbird as we speak is like leaping in a time machine—it’s fairly outdated.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 in comparison with trendy, Electron-based e-mail shoppers. It’s additionally tremendous customizable, backed by an enthusiastic group, and has a robust 19-year monitor document 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 consumer 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 consumer that aligns with Thunderbird’s mission. As a substitute of constructing a Thunderbird app from scratch, Mozilla will remodel Okay-9 Mail into Thunderbird for Android. It’s going to provide most (if not all) of the options you care about, together with message filters, account auto-configuration, “unmatched customization,” and syncing with the desktop consumer.

Mozilla will slowly replace Okay-9 Mail with Christian Ketterer (often known as cketti), who presently maintains the app. As soon as it has some important options, similar to desktop syncing, Okay-9 Mail will turn into “Thunderbird for Android.” (The rebranding ought to occur someday in 2023.)

Updates to the Okay-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 may install K-9 Mail in your Android smartphone or pill as we speak. Mozilla additionally hopes to convey Thunderbird to iOS, although it’s specializing in Android first.

Supply: Mozilla