The first stable release of the Thunderbird email client for Android has been introduced, built using technologies derived from the merger with the K-9 Mail project. Thunderbird for Android is version 8.0, continuing the version numbering of K-9 Mail. All standard features of K-9 Mail are supported, including email encryption with OpenPGP, multiple account management, and both dark and light themes. Installation packages are available on Google Play, GitHub, and the project website (publication in the F-Droid catalog is expected soon).
Thunderbird for Android continues the development of the K-9 Mail email client and utilizes the codebase of this project. The changes mainly involve bringing the appearance and functionality of K-9 Mail closer to the design and capabilities of the desktop version of Thunderbird. For existing K-9 Mail users, besides the name change and the addition of new features, nothing fundamentally has changed.
The merger of Thunderbird and K-9 Mail was facilitated by the similar goals of the projects, a strong commitment to ensuring privacy, the use of an open development process, and a shared vision of what a modern mobile email application should be. The K-9 Mail developers benefit from the merger due to the influx of additional resources, an expanded user base, and accelerated development pace. For the Thunderbird developers, the merger provided the opportunity to avoid spreading efforts thin on creating a mobile version.
Key changes in Thunderbird for Android compared to the latest release of K-9 Mail:
- The interface appearance has been aligned with the design of the desktop version of Thunderbird.
- Email folders are styled according to the third version of Material Design.
- A feature has been added to transfer settings from K-9 Mail to Thunderbird and from Thunderbird Desktop to Thunderbird for Android. In the latter case, migrating requires just taking a photo of the QR code displayed in the desktop version.
- OAuth protocol support has been updated and is now compatible with Fastmail and some other email services.
- Enhanced capabilities for managing email folders.
- Improved visual separation between read and unread messages.
Source: opennet.ru
