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Disappointing Mailbox update. Looking for new Mail client!

over 7 years ago from , Product Designer at Facebook Messenger

My co-worker and I both use Mailbox on our phones, and have been using the desktop app as well. However, the new update for the desktop app has been extremely disappointing. The concept of "swiping" has disappeared, and the layout is horrific, unfortunately. I'll still be using Mailbox on my phone, probably, but am looking for a good alternative to Mailbox for my laptop.

It's a shame for sure. I've been using Mailbox's beta for ages!

82 comments

  • Daniel ArcherDaniel Archer, over 7 years ago

    I feel like I've tried them all out, and I just keep coming back to Apple Mail.

    22 points
    • Joe Blau, over 7 years ago

      I just did the same thing last week. Updated to El Cap and went back to Apple Mail.

      2 points
    • Evan KnightEvan Knight, over 7 years ago

      Same here, tried airmail for a long time but things just didn't work out between us.

      2 points
    • Andy StoneAndy Stone, over 7 years ago

      The combination of a new visual design, the new bugs, and eliminating all of my shortcuts is just brutal.

      Everyone at my office has been on Mailbox since the early Beta days and we're all switching away today. Major shame because the snoozing and everything was amazing.

      If Google Inbox had a unified inbox view, I'd jump aboard.

      9 points
    • Fri RasyidiFri Rasyidi, over 7 years ago

      Tried them all too, but for me it's Gmail on Chrome that works. Apple Mail has been trouble for me since it's taking a lot of space in my HD that's the main reason why I tried many mail app in the first place. But then again, none really works for me so I keep coming back to opening Gmail via my browser.

      0 points
  • Marcel Wichmann Marcel Wichmann , over 7 years ago

    Airmail 2 <3

    16 points
    • Michael WhithamMichael Whitham, over 7 years ago

      Checking out Airmail, looks good.

      1 point
    • Chris WinchChris Winch, over 7 years ago

      I second Airmail. Really like it.

      1 point
    • Christin WhiteChristin White, over 7 years ago

      I use Airmail as well and generally like it! I've also been meaning to try the new MailPilot beta, I wasn't a fan of version one but I like their iOS app, it would be nice to use the same thing on Mac and iOS.

      2 points
    • Bob WassermannBob Wassermann, over 7 years ago

      I tried it a few times, and after your comment I'd like to try it again. What makes you love it? To me it looks way more cluttered than the default mail.app and doesn't add any noticeable features.

      I could be overseeing things or not using it correctly and would love to hear what you love about it

      1 point
      • Christin WhiteChristin White, over 7 years ago

        For me both Mail and Airmail are perfectly sufficient options, there aren't any important features missing from one or the other. It mostly comes down to which I find more attractive and Airmail wins that to me.

        1 point
    • Chris DonerChris Doner, over 7 years ago

      Airmail is hands down the best option I've came across. I installed the Mailbox Beta and it lasted all but 5mins before I switched back to Airmail.

      1 point
    • Joel CalifaJoel Califa, over 7 years ago

      does it have snooze

      1 point
    • Clay MacTavishClay MacTavish, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

      Does Airmail support Exchange accounts for my company's email?

      1 point
  • Lance LiuLance Liu, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Why don't you just stick with the old version of Mailbox Beta for now? At least that's what I'm doing for now.

    None of the rest of mail apps can compare when it comes to the quality of visual details. Mailbox pre-0.7 was the cleanest looking one of the all. Sad to see it stepped backwards but things will be better, soon. IMHO.

    Have some faith in the Mailbox team!

    Meanwhile, here is the link to the old version.

    https://mb-dtop.s3.amazonaws.com/external-beta/Mailbox_EXT_Beta_0.4.2_150316.zip

    9 points
  • Tom HareTom Hare, over 7 years ago

    I've tried out Mailbox, Airmail, Unibox, Postbox and Inky in the past but always find myself heading back to Sparrow. Despite no updates in nearly three years, I still find it to be the best interface and I still haven't seen a better implementation of the Alt+R quick reply.

    8 points
  • Diego LafuenteDiego Lafuente, over 7 years ago

    Inbox, webclient. #thuglife

    5 points
  • Thomas SchinabeckThomas Schinabeck, over 7 years ago

    Crashing all the time.... Or is it just me? Why did they eliminate the genius "shortcut teaser" feature via pressing command?

    3 points
    • Luke SeeleyLuke Seeley, over 7 years ago

      Crashing all the time for me and now it's stuck in a crash-loop.

      1 point
      • Eric PosenEric Posen, over 7 years ago

        Happened to me too. You have to uninstall/reinstall.

        0 points
        • Luke SeeleyLuke Seeley, over 7 years ago

          I couldn't find any app preferences, plists, or anything in /Library nor ~/Library and tried reinstalling the app, but it didn't prevent the crashing :-/. I've switched to Google Inbox in the mean time.

          0 points
    • Jasper MijdamJasper Mijdam, over 7 years ago

      Why do people say the shortcuts are removed? They are still there for me, just as the shortcut teaser feature you mention. (v0.4.2)

      0 points
  • George Penston, over 7 years ago

    Since iOS 9 beta has messed up my email in Mail, I've been trying Outlook for iOS. It's actually quite good and seems very comparable to Mailbox. Unfortunately, I haven't found they have as great an app for the Mac just yet. Sorry since I know that's what you're really asking about.

    3 points
    • Christin WhiteChristin White, over 7 years ago

      Outlook on iOS is fantastic! My work uses Exchange so it's the best choice for me and I find it a pleasure to use. I agree that there's no good Mac version and I'm guessing we won't see a modern update anytime soon.

      Other than OneNote Microsoft seems to be really neglecting their Office suite for Mac. I'd love to see an update to Skype for Business, the Lync client is terrible.

      1 point
      • Christian SchuhmannChristian Schuhmann, over 7 years ago

        Have you (or anyone else) tried the 2015 beta release of Outlook for Mac? I am wondering if it is better than the older one.

        1 point
        • Clay MacTavishClay MacTavish, over 7 years ago

          If it is anything like the one i'm currently using then ok i'd stick with it. But only because I'm forced to. Outlook for Mac eats up 700MB of RAM on my Mac and is super clunky. Thought I still use it because there is nothing else out there.

          1 point
        • Pierre de MillyPierre de Milly, over 7 years ago

          I've been using the 2015 beta for a few weeks and I'm really happy. At least it fixes the compatibility issues with Windows.

          It's hard using a Windows-oriented interface on a mac but habits formed when working on the suite on Windows still remain somewhere in my brain so it's ok.

          0 points
  • Sebastian Key, over 7 years ago

    Inbox by google

    2 points
  • Jon MyersJon Myers, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    I hate all email clients with equal fury.

    From stupid threading that takes UX aikido, gymnastics and Krav Maga to shut off or navigate to attachments that turn into ghosts to wanky composition interfaces.

    I hate them all and tolerate Apple Mail.

    I really wish someone would attack this problem for real.

    2 points
  • Chris SlowikChris Slowik, over 7 years ago

    I sent a few emails today after the update and had irritating new bugs: - once, i typed an email and when i hit send, it sent a blank email - sent an email and it shows in my sent folder on mailbox but not gmail.

    2 points
  • Brendon Rell, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    I've been using the Mac app since day one of the beta and I think everyone on here taking issue with the re-design is missing the shift to a more OSX-aligned look. There's definitely a little room for improvement, but in terms of both bugs and general 'snappy-ness' it's a welcome improvement. Now the click to drag going away, that's another issue....

    My overall thought on this whole beta is that I am utterly, utterly shocked at how this thing has been neglected by the Dropbox team. Gentry, what happened?

    This is one of the most valuable tech companies in the world, and this is their flagship mail offering. How it went so long without an update, how it's still pretty buggy, and how they seem to be a bit unaware of customer opinion on things like drag-to-swipe (using my Macbook trackpad just creates accidental swipes...did no one there actually use this before the update??) - I mean, I'm just baffled here. Such a wasted opportunity. How come much smaller dev teams can make Mac apps (and yes, Mac mail apps) that aren't so buggy? This whole beta has kind of been a big mess and I'd be embarrassed over there.

    Edit: My suggestion for an alternative would be Inky. Not sure if it's amazing, but it seemed fun for the short time I tried it.

    2 points
  • Michael WhithamMichael Whitham, over 7 years ago

    Hey Alice,

    I'm also in the same boat, so are a lot of people apparently. (http://thenextweb.com/apps/2015/08/19/mailbox-for-mac-has-been-updated-but-thats-bad-news-for-many-users/)

    I switched back to Apple Mail for now.

    2 points
  • Zach ShermanZach Sherman, over 7 years ago

    Swiping isn't really gone, if you have a magic mouse it still works on swipe, but they seem to have gotten rid of the drag-to-swipe functionality :/

    2 points
    • Adam SelbyAdam Selby, over 7 years ago

      Having not used it, that sounds confusing to me. Seems like a good change.

      1 point
      • JC .JC ., over 7 years ago

        As someone who does use the app, it is not a good change. I use a regular mouse, so the ability to activate the swipe feature via click+drag is great. Don't knock it till you try it.

        3 points
    • Taylor DolanTaylor Dolan, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

      I think now they want you to scroll horizontally (rather than dragging) to swipe away a message. Works on my trackpad.

      1 point
    • Tyrale BloomfieldTyrale Bloomfield, over 7 years ago

      It's targeting the proper hardware interactions. On the Magic Mouse, or any trackpad you can swipe. This is the proper use of the hardware to feature connection. On a non-touch hardware device, click and drag is different than swipe.

      1 point
      • Chris SlowikChris Slowik, over 7 years ago

        There is still a large portion of the computer world that prefers not to use multitouch - maybe if hardware designers thought about ergonomics again =]

        There's absolutely nothing wrong or incorrect about using a fallback interaction when a certain hardware feature is unavailable.

        2 points
        • Tyrale BloomfieldTyrale Bloomfield, over 7 years ago

          There is nothing inherently right about it either.

          We can't continue to support all interaction methods for hardware that doesn't exist. If you can't pinch and zoom on a multitouch because you don't have the hardware, there is no option to use two mice to click and drag in opposite directions. The interaction model is changed. It's completely different interaction where a single pointer can 'zoom in' on click with a key modifier to 'zoom out'.

          We don't need to force the interaction model, we need to design for the interactions available. This is way we still use QWERTY on touch screen keyboards. It's not right, it's lazy and familiar.

          If we designed a proper type input interaction hardware we held in our hand from the start, we wouldn't end up with QWERTY.

          Sometimes its good to go with familiar, and others its just lazy. It's not a matter of right or wrong.

          Specifically in this case, a click is faster and easier than a click and drag. That is what I believe was the intent. Also click and drag can become problematic in development, in a lean environment it may not be worth the development time to support when there is a 'faster/more simple' interaction in a single click.

          0 points
  • Karthik KKarthik K, over 7 years ago

    Just received the 0.7.1 update and it god damn fixed everything.

    1 point
  • Kenan Bendz, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Really? I updated, but i can swipe on the touchpad. (v0.7.1)

    1 point
  • Spencer HaizelSpencer Haizel, over 7 years ago

    Inbox by Google.

    1 point
  • Thomas RawcliffeThomas Rawcliffe, over 7 years ago

    I've used Sparrow Mail for years. However Google recently pulled it from the app store, so I'm not sure how you'd even get hold of it now.

    Real shame as it was the perfect balance of functionality and simplicity.

    1 point
  • Kevin SuttleKevin Suttle, over 7 years ago

    Boxer is pretty solid. http://www.getboxer.com/ It's mobile-only, though.

    1 point
  • Henry FreelHenry Freel, over 7 years ago

    Yea what happened? Redesign just made it worse :(

    1 point
  • Tom Holt, over 7 years ago

    Agree!

    1 point
  • Artem TitoulenkoArtem Titoulenko, over 7 years ago

    I've always been coming back to Alpine, a terminal mail client. So far it's the only email client that hasn't crashed, failed to send email, etc. The learning curve is moderate, but it's been out for so long that there are tons of posts and documentation.

    1 point
  • Adam T.Adam T., over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Unibox, although due for an update, has been my daily mailer for months. Great design, simple, clean, refined interface, etc. They are coming with an iOS app this fall I hear.

    1 point
  • Andy LeverenzAndy Leverenz, over 7 years ago

    I've yet to find a perfect solution but so far Airmail wins my vote

    1 point
  • Jesse C.Jesse C., over 7 years ago

    I'm a big fan of MailMate and have been using it for over a year now. It's not super pretty but the interface is still good for GTD. The features on the homepage are why I use it.

    1 point
  • Alex FerensAlex Ferens, over 7 years ago

    I persevered with the Mailbox desktop app for as long as could, sadly disappointed to! God damn beta

    1 point
  • Nicolas THIRYNicolas THIRY, over 7 years ago

    Never found anything better than Sparrow. Even without updates it's still the best solution I've found !

    1 point
  • Steven Harley, over 7 years ago

    I tried using gmail's inbox for a while when Mailbox went dark. Switched back to Mailbox yesterday and am loving it. Sure I miss the gmail shortcuts (which they've said they're adding back shortly) and some of the other nice to haves, but that doesn't bother me.

    I use Mailbox because of its really slick Later functionality and its unified inbox. It does both of those things really well (again) and I haven't been plagued with crashes (yet). Sticking to Mailbox for now, hopefully they continue to support it.

    1 point
  • Nick CiliakNick Ciliak, over 7 years ago

    This is really disappointing. I've been using Mailbox for Mac and iOS exclusively since it came out and I've loved it. (despite the bugs on Mac) I'm really hoping it doesn't automatically update on my Macbook.

    1 point
  • Eric PosenEric Posen, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    This update was desperately needed as there were SO many bugs. It's been around a year since the last update.

    That said, really unhappy that they removed the ability to click and drag to archive/delete/later etc. I am on an iMac and I don't use a Magic Mouse so I can only archive by using the hotkey or clicking the button. :(

    1 point
    • Alice ChuangAlice Chuang, over 7 years ago

      Yeah, precisely. I do use a Magic Mouse (wonderful for Sketch), but I'm still not happy with the change. I used to just restart whenever I got one of those freezing bugs, holding out for a bug - free version, but the new update is unfortunately not good at all. Besides the functionality, the text spacing is pretty rough on the eye.

      0 points
    • Chris SlowikChris Slowik, over 7 years ago

      Fastest way i've found to handle my inbox is not with the mouse at all actually. Even before this change, I used the arrow keys to manipulate items. Might be nice if you haven't tried that yet.

      That said, I agree there was no reason to remove it.

      1 point
      • Tyrale BloomfieldTyrale Bloomfield, over 7 years ago

        Couldn't agree more here. Keyboard interaction is fast and easy to get around. Return and Delete keys for the quick inbox clean up!

        0 points
  • pjotr .pjotr ., over 7 years ago

    Slack ;)

    1 point
  • Phil RauPhil Rau, over 7 years ago

    My workplace blocks dropbox... previously I was able to just hook up to dropbox to log in the first time, then the rest of the time it didn't require a connection to use. Seems like that's changed now so I can't use it :(

    1 point
  • Onur SentureOnur Senture, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    It seems they changed the keyboard shortcuts as well. Now we have to adopt new keyboard shortcuts. Great work.

    0 points
  • Blake SimkinsBlake Simkins, over 7 years ago

    In browser Gmail FTW!

    0 points
  • Luis La TorreLuis La Torre, over 7 years ago

    Could you take a screenshot of the new update? I would like to see it before updating.

    0 points
  • Tom WoodTom Wood, over 7 years ago

    Airmail 1.4 - beautiful. I've looked at Airmail 2 and it just doesn't do it for me.

    It unifies all 3 of my accounts, GMail, Exchange and Hosted.

    For my mobile I use CloudMagic.

    Such a great combination.

    0 points
  • Ollie BarkerOllie Barker, over 7 years ago

    I'm using Airmail at the moment. But really I just prefer Apple Mail with classic view enabled :)

    0 points
  • Claude AyiteyClaude Ayitey, over 7 years ago

    Sparrow makes the cut for me. I live the way it just works. No updates but ... it works!

    0 points
  • Edmundo SantosEdmundo Santos, over 7 years ago

    I've been using Inbox by Google, and although I love the interface, they didn't implemented some basic text format stuff. So… yeah, we need a new one folks!

    0 points
  • David WDavid W, over 7 years ago

    Airmail beta for Mac is really good!

    0 points
  • Paul TrottPaul Trott, over 7 years ago

    Outlook

    0 points