The first official version of Thunderbird for Android will not be released in 2023. The Thunderbird team announced this week that it has postponed the release to 2024.
To better understand why, it is necessary to look back at the initial plan. It all started with the separation of Thunderbird from core Mozilla. Eventually, the new team announced plans to release the email client for Android.
Instead of creating an app from scratch, which would have taken considerable development resources and time, it decided to cooperate with an existing app developer. K-9 Mail is a long standing app for Android.
Now that the target was set, the team had to decided on a feature set for Thunderbird for Android. K-9 Mail supported core features already, but to make it Thunderbird, the app had to support a set of features that the team considered essential.
Once the list was set in stone, the team estimated the development time it would take to get these features integrated. It even set the end of 2023 as the release period for the first stable release of Thunderbird for Android.
As year’s end kept coming closer, the team realized that the app would not be ready for a release. Even cutting features was not enough, and it could also disappoint some users who expected certain features to be present.
Thunderbird for Android in 2024
The decision was made to postpone the official release of Thunderbird for Android to 2024. The change removes pressure from development. It also means that the first release version will support all the features of the original list.
For now, it is still K-9 Mail which users may download from F-Droid or Google Play to install on their Android devices. In 2024, it will change automatically to Thunderbird for Android on devices it is installed on.
Closing words
The decision to postpone the release makes sense on many levels. Instead of rushing a version that may not be up-to-par quality or feature-wise, development is getting enough time to get it right the first time.
A false start could have negative consequences for the entire app on Android. The team needs to take a look at user reviews as well, as they are not only positive.
Interested users may check out the latest development progress report on the official Thunderbird blog.
Now You: do you use an email app on your mobile devices?