Gmail for Android should be one of the best email apps on the platform. However, I tried using it in 2024, and it is actually terrible.
On that note, what are some decent email providers? I’m using Gmail for all the corporate bs (e.g., Steam, Discord, etc.)
I switched to proton mail about 3 months ago since I was already using proton VPN and pass and I’m very happy with it so far. If you use pass + mail you can easily create website-specific aliases (automatically or with a few button presses) so you don’t expose your own email, and if you start getting spam you’ll know exactly who sold your email.
Primary downside is that since all of your mail is encrypted, on mobile you can only use the official proton mail app, not any third party apps. On desktop there is a bridge app that lets you use others though (I personally use thunderbird)
I use Mailbox.org. Based in Germany so EU privacy laws apply.
Gmail app in particular has been basically abandoned for the last 4+ major android versions. I only really use it for my work email on a Shelter profile since it’s just to handle urgent stuff if I’m afk. But even that minimal use has me about ready to install k-9 on the work profile too.
Maybe my memory is bring foiled by nostalgia, but i honestly remember the Gmail Inbox app being better than the current Gmail app. Clearly google can output a good UI, they just 100% choose not to.
The built-in email app for an OS doesnt have to be amazing, but it at least needs to be reasonable. iOS Mail isn’t amazing either, but compared to the Gmail app it’s a feature-packed power user tool.
i honestly remember the Gmail Inbox app being better than the current Gmail app
It absolutely was
I believe the iOS Mail app is getting a UI redesign before the end of the year.
Inbox was by far the best thing Google have done with email. Still waiting on features they had unique to that app.
I find Gmail hot garbage in general. Switched to proton mail and it’s similar to how Gmail used to be when it was good. Also has google integration so it makes the transition easy
If Proton would offer feature to send from your mailbox with external SMTP accounts, like GMails, I would sign up for unlimited.
This is the main thing that put me off them too. Not going to use some desktop app to allow my server to send email on my behalf. I use Zoho mail now and while it isn’t perfect it does what I need.
I am trying out BlueMail and it seems ok
I like K-9 Mail
I remember trying K9 years ago and the UI/UX felt hostile to me trying to add accounts and I uninstalled it. Tried it again last year or so and it was painless. It just worked.
It’s now my default email app and I look forward to improvements as it becomes Thunderbird.
Soon to be rebranded as Thunderbird
When you like tech and understand email then FairEmail is nice. If you don’t understand the email technology, don’t need features and just want it as simple as possible, choose K9.
Someone else that uses FairMail! I like it because email PGP signatures.
I stopped clicking on android authority links after they faked a drop test to make an iPhone look good
That said, what are people using nowadays or what. I tried skiff earlier this year and then it almost immediately announced they were stopping their email service
I can’t imagine the stress if I’d had anything important I needed to transfer to another email. I mean, besides losing everything of course
Edit: relevant absolutely ridiculous, watching it again. No shame! I wonder if they ever even addressed it
Google Apps are ALWAYS much worse than FOSS alternatives.
What foss do you recommend for email? I don’t love Gmail app, but I’ve not come across a better alternative yet (not tried very hard tbh) .
FairEmail app does the job for me.
Maybe not the best, but good and compliant to the desktop variant: K-9 Mail, now rebranded to Thunderbird Android
The only exception to this is google maps. There isn’t really an alternative, because they have the network effect going with all the points of interest added already, and crowd sourced by people, plus the reviews of business and restaurants. Even if you can get all that going with a Foss app, its not going to be tracking you, and unfortunately maps is the 1 reason for tracking people that actually gives the user some benefit, traffic data. I don’t think there any other Foss maps that gives traffic data, which if you live near a city or travel a lot, its invaluable.
The only thing where google maps is superior is the reviews. In all other points OSM is more detailed and often more up to date. Especially due to nerds like us, that while waiting for the radicalistic-left club to open, explore a mislabeled playground, fix that, and continue to complete streets for OSM with one dude’s phone that can measure distances.
However, google maps does have a lot of data too. Except the app, as all google apps, has literally no useful settings and is awful to use in many aspects.
And for FOSS apps that give traffic data: There are none that I’m aware of. There are, however, alternative, crowd sourced apps/websites for germany, like Blitzer.de, that not only show speed cams but also traffic data. Not ideal, but better.
I would have to disagree for the city and state that I live in. Google Maps is much more accurate and up to date than OSM and the directions are better too. Not to mention sometimes knowing to route around construction and whatnot. OSM and whether it’s better than Google Maps seems to be very region dependent.
I contribute when and where I can but there isn’t a huge user base here.
That’s bad luck then, friends and I had the opposite experience, with OrganicMaps routing around a road closure where google maps didn’t acknowledge it.
aside from Google maps and camera
maps is the most up to date, easiest to use
pixel camera really does a great job on the processing of photos. oftentimes better that other manufacturers stock apps
I’m interested to hear what everyone uses as an alternative.
I use K-9 mail (its on F-droid too).
Its soon to be the Thunderbird mobile client.
Don’t use it, but Marcel is a nice dev and has great customer support. Used his firewall app, NetGuard.
K9 / Thunderbird seems alright. But I don’t need a whole lot for my mail and the only real benefit of them is that it isn’t Google and it is open source. I don’t think it currently works well with spam flagging though.
