Thunderbird is undoubtedly one of the best email clients for Linux.
It is an open-source offering from Mozilla Foundation and a reliable email client with robust features.
With the recent updates, it has received some visual improvements along with feature additions.
Now, with the upcoming Thunderbird 102 release, it is adding more exciting things to its feature set.
In a Twitter thread, Thunderbird shared all about it. Let me mention the key highlights here.
Thunderbird 102: What’s New?
Thunderbird 102 will be a major upgrade with several useful additions, targeted for release on 28 June 2022. Some of them include:
- Spaces toolbar
- New Address Book
- Matrix Support
- Link Preview Cards
- Account Setup Hub
- Import/Export
- Message Header Redesign
The beta release should be available by the end of May 2022. While that sounds great, here are some more details regarding the changes:
1. Spaces Toolbar
The new Spaces Toolbar helps you keep a variety of activities separate in the form of icons in the left sidebar.
It will be easier to navigate and manage multiple tabs within the email client.
You can also collapse the toolbar and have it show up as an icon in the tab-bar, saving you some screen space.
2. New Address Book
The new look of the address book should help you easily find your contacts and interact with them.
The overall layout of the contact information looks more accessible, giving you all the details you need to know, and should provide a good user experience.
3. Matrix Support
Matrix is a popular decentralized open-source chat protocol. So, with Thunderbird 102, you will be able to use the Matrix chat feature out-of-the-box easily.
Initially, it was only available as an experimental feature in beta versions.
You should expect further refinements to it in the future.
4. Link Preview Cards
Link Preview helps to improve the user experience by providing a glimpse of what to expect in the link.
And, with a straightforward email client like Thunderbird, I never expected it to be a thing until now.
Whenever you add a link in the email composer, you can choose to convert it into a rich link preview.
5. Account Setup Hub
It is incredibly important to have an easy setup process for any service/app.
Thunderbird 102 improves the experience for all the account setup functions, like adding an account, managing the calendar, importing profiles, and more.
6. Import/Export Feature by Default
As of now, you will have to rely on an add-on to import/export profile data.
With Thunderbird 102, the import/export functionality will be available out-of-the-box without requiring an add-on.
7. Message Header Redesign
The header/subject of the email has received subtle upgrades to highlight the important info better and make it responsive while navigating.
Other Changes
In addition to the key highlights, you can expect numerous technical improvements and bug fixes.
For instance, the UX/UI for OpenPGP is also getting an upgrade along with a new storage format, i.e., Maildir.
What do you think of the upcoming feature additions to Thunderbird 102? Are you excited about the UI/UX upgrades to Thunderbird? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Here's why you should opt for It's FOSS Plus Membership
- Even the biggest players in the Linux world don't care about desktop Linux users. We do.
- We don't put content behind paywall. Your support keeps it open for everyone. Think of it like 'pay it forward'.
- Don't like ads? With the Plus membership, you get an ad-free reading experience.
- When millions of AI-generated content is being published daily, you read and learn from real human Linux users.
- It costs just $2 a month, less than the cost of your favorite burger.
