Thunderbird for Android: First beta, final version at the end of October
The long-awaited Android app for the Thunderbird mail client is available as a beta. It is based on the K-9 mail app, which is integrated into Thunderbird.
(Image: iX)
A first public beta version is now available for the Android app of the email client Thunderbird. The final release candidate will be ready in the third week of October and the official release will take place in the last week of October, according to the developers. The Thunderbird app is based on the well-known open-source client K-9 Mail. Work has been underway since 2022 to merge K-9 into an Android version of Thunderbird. The main developer of K-9 is on board.
The beta app can be obtained via Google's Playstore or via the Github repo. Builds for the open-source store F-Droid are still in the works, the Thunderbird developers announced. At the same time, they called on users to diligently test the standard functions for bugs and provide feedback via the Thunderbird mailing list.
Exchange beta for more thrills
Users who already use K-9 and can test the transfer of data from the app to the Thunderbird beta are also in demand. This requires the use of the current K-9 beta. The function is intended to make it easy to switch to Thunderbird. According to earlier plans, K-9 will continue to exist in parallel for a while, but will then be discontinued at some point. Later Thunderbird app versions should also enable the transfer of user data from the desktop application.
The developers have also been holding out the prospect of native Exchange support for some time. However, on the release of the desktop version Thunderbird 128 in July, they described their Exchange implementation, written in Rust, as a pre-beta for anyone "looking for a thrill". Accordingly, it is rather unlikely that the Android app planned for the end of October will already be able to handle Exchange.
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Add-ons for the Android Thunderbird should also not be expected yet. Although the developers stated in April that they also wanted add-ons for the Android version, this is rather unlikely within the next two years. K-9-Mail has a different code base than the desktop Thunderbird and the add-ons are designed for desktop use.
(axk)
