So questions are being asked whether Ubuntu should still ship with a default email client. Personally, I have not used Thunderbird in a really long time. I wanna believe this is not the first time the question has been asked but this time I believe there is a really good chance that it is gonna get cut. This is because everyday users tend to resort to web-based clients such as Gmail or Outlook for their email needs. And for the power user on Linux, there are quite a few options available to choose from. Geary, Empathy, Evolution, and Thunderbird itself have served many users quite well for sometime now, but I found something worth checking out: it is called Nylas Mail.
The development of Nylas mail was active when the article was written. Later on I got to know that it’s not active anymore. Previously known as Nylas N1 client, Nylas Mail was introduced early this year in January and along with it came a free version; Nylas Mail Basic along with the previously available paid version. Also, back in January, the client was available for only Mac but it is now available for Linux and Windows users.
Why Nylas?
A lot of people have chosen Nylas Mail for a variety of reasons. Let us take a look at some of the common themes that run around.Simplicity– Nylas Mail client manages elegance and simplicity. Built in electron, the app is very pretty and easy going. The design also ensures setting up your emails in Nylas is pretty easy and straightforward.
Compatibility – Nylas Mail is compatible with all email providers. It is compatible with Gmail, Yahoo, Exchange and IMAP accounts so you are covered wherever you get your mail.
Powerful features – Nylas ships with a ton of features. There is a full-screen mode, offline support, multiple layout formats, multiple accounts, unified inboxes, reminders, snoozing, signatures and send later. Some of these features come with the Nylas Mail Basic.
Hybrid backend – Previously, Nylas sort of synced a copy of your mail into a server using the Nylas cloud and this was like mehn for many people. Fortunately, with the latest version, Nylas now employs a hybrid backend that connects directly to your email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. The cloud sync, although is still available, is only used when you use advanced subscription tools such as snoozing and tracking. The downside is that it is one or the other. Want some pro features, you require cloud sync, you don’t want cloud sync, you miss out on those features.
Open-source and a free edition – Nylas mail is available as an open source project. This means you can take the code and build it up yourself. You can even setup your own server to sidestep the issue.
Cross-platform – Nylas is a cross-platform app available on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. So regardless of which desktop operating system you prefer, you can rest assured that Nylas has you covered. And the experience is the same all across.
What needs some work?
So far so good with Nylas email clients but there are a few gripes. First is the paid option which was introduced back in 2016. The introduction of the free version kind of deals with this issue but the fact that some of the features are only available for the costly price of about $9/month is off-putting for most people including me. Also, not many people like to keep copies of their mail on a server somewhere. Of course, you can set up your own server but who needs the hassle. Lastly, for an app that runs in the background, it can be quite the memory hog. I hope it is not due to the fact that it is written mainly in electron and I want to believe this is going to get better with updates and improvements
Conclusion
Nylas Mail hits a very sweet spot for me in terms of features and function and I believe you definitely should check it out. As an email client, it is pretty effective and I’m really liking Nylas Mail and will definitely keep it around. Maybe you should too. Kudos to the developers for the good work being done. Do you have another app you want us to take a look at? Point it out in the comments below and share your thoughts and comments as well.
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