Email widget for mac. The best email clients for OS X. So do you need an email client and if so, which one

Since the advent of the first electronic mailboxes Many years have passed, but no one is going to stop using e-mail - it is a convenient tool not only for communication, but also for work. Event notifications, reminders, newsletters and daily business correspondence- all this is combined in one place. To fulfill as much as possible more tasks in one place created by advanced email clients. Such as Airmail for Mac. I will talk about the third generation of one of the best mailers in this review.

I don't have a lot of mailboxes, only 4 pieces. All of them are tailored for specific tasks, so each needs its own approach - as a rule, it takes a lot of time to set up and customize accounts. But not with Airmail. The initial launch is standard for everyone - you need to select a service and enter data account. Airmail is compatible out of the box with Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and Outlook, as well as IMAP and POP3. Three of my four inboxes are on Gmail, so signing in and syncing is just a few clicks away.

The main window of the program is divided into three zones: a sidebar with accounts and folders, a strip of letters and a window that displays the contents of messages. Similar to standard Mail on Mac, but Airmail has a cooler design. At the same time, in the settings, you can select themes that change the display and layout of elements on the main screen. And in general, in terms of customization, Airmail seemed to me the most convenient among all other clients. You can understand what's what even despite dozens of items in each settings tab.

I've used Airmail 2 before, having tried a bunch of other email clients before it. I liked this one for its ease of execution and configuration, but soon I returned to my native Mail. All because of a strange notification system - badges of new messages constantly hung in the Dock, although they should not have been, notifications about letters came with delays or even selectively, and more dice constantly disappeared in the notification center unread messages. Even without understanding the situation, I switched to the standard mailer from Apple and have not regretted it until today.

Now I have allocated more time for Airmail, at the same time I looked at the list of changes in the 3rd version of the client, which turned out to be a lot. One of the innovations is the ability to mark recipients with the "VIP" mark, thereby receiving notifications only from them - a kind of option for correspondence in which nothing should be distracting. I did not understand what else the function is useful for - even the support staff could not really explain why this is needed.

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I don't receive a lot of letters, so I hardly use sorting. I note only what is really important, and this is a maximum of two or three letters out of a couple of dozen. The rest I immediately send to the archive, so as not to get confused among the many letters. Therefore, a good content search is especially important to me. Airmail 3 handles this perfectly - no complaints. The algorithm works quickly and without questions, search necessary information usually takes no more than ten seconds.

As befits a modern email client, working with letters in Airmail is also tailored for swipes. Swipe left or right to archive or delete messages. You can also customize all actions, so there should be no problems with adapting to large versions of email clients after mobile ones. But there are already more opportunities here: setting up sorting, smart replies and displaying letters in the form of dialogs, as well as integration with various services like Trello or a regular calendar.

The secret of upgrading to the third version, if the previous one was installed on the Mac, is still unsolved. Our editor-in-chief - Jonas Rozhkov - faced a problem face to face: on Mac App Store opposite the application, the Open button lights up, although the update did not even come, but when pressed, it starts old version mailer. As practice has shown, a forced restart of applications and even the system did not help - you will have to demolish Airmail 2 and check again. But with a previously purchased, but not installed client, there are no problems.

I am happy with the new Airmail. Although it has not undergone significant changes, there are fewer bugs and flaws in it - I like the way it works. And the policy of the developers finally pleases with its loyalty, because you can upgrade from the previous version of the client for free. And for those who still haven't bought Airmail, I advise you to take a closer look at it - it's really good.

standard Apple apps enough for most. This applies not only to the mail client, but also to notes, reminders, calendar and music player. However, standard Mail is only good if it's not compared to third-party apps. The editors of the site took a look at several major alternatives to the macOS email client.

air mail

The developers position Airmail as "the fastest email client for Mac" and at least do not disappoint. The app is fast, smooth, and looks good on the outside, just like the other alternatives. But Airmail is also a feature-packed client that has features not found in the standard client.

In Airmail, you can write letters in Markdown and HTML, there is support third party applications(OmniFocus, Things, Wunderlist and more) and AppleScript support. Incoming emails can be sorted into To Do (current tasks), Done (completed) and Memo (notes) folders.

The app has recently been released for iOS. One of the minuses of the client is the price. The macOS version is $9.99 and the iOS version is $4.99.

Pros:

1. Support for third party applications.
2. Work speed.
3. Support for standard Gmail hotkeys.

Minuses:

1. Price.
2. Problems with IMAP folders.
3. Lack of some features available in other email clients.

post box

Postbox has been around almost since the launch of the Mac App Store. Externally, the client is similar to the standard Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird. However, in a recent update appearance Postbox has been noticeably changed.

The advantage of Postbox is in its functionality. The client supports working with several mail accounts at the same time, search by attachments and response templates. The user can reply to emails by clicking on the button with templates and selecting one of the appropriate options.

Postbox costs $15 and can only be purchased from the developer's website. You can also download there trial version and use it for free for 30 days. In addition, there is a two-month money-back guarantee - in fact, the client can be used for free for three months.

Pros:

1. Functionality.
2. Ability to respond with pre-made templates.
3. Trial period.

Minuses:

1. There is no client for iOS.
2. overloaded interface.
3. Lack of Exchange support.

Polymail

Polymail just got out of testing a month ago, but has managed to establish itself as one of the best email clients. The developers managed to combine a simple interface and an abundance of interesting features. For example, Polymail shows receipt notifications for sent emails and knows how to schedule sending at the right time.

Regular updates can also be attributed to the advantages of Polymail - developers are constantly correcting bugs and introducing new features. Unlike alternatives, Polymail is free in both macOS and iOS versions. There is no paid functionality.

Pros:

1. Ability to receive notifications when messages are read.
2. You can postpone sending emails "for later".
3. The app is free.

Minuses:

1. There are still minor bugs.
2. Sometimes the application does not send notifications of new messages.

Mail Pilot

According to the developers, Mail Pilot is a client aimed at maximum productivity. Here, the interface is simple, despite this, the application combines an email client and a task manager. The client is available for macOS, iOS, and watchOS.

In Mail Pilot, you can combine emails into lists, so it's more convenient to work with large tasks. The price for productivity is high - the macOS version is $19.99, the mobile version is $9.99.

Pros:

1. Support for the entire Apple ecosystem.
2. Email client and task manager in one application.
3. Nice interface.

Minuses:

1. A non-standard approach to the mail client may not suit some users.
2. High price.

Mail

Complaints about mediocre Gmail and the need to periodically clear the attachment cache aside, Mail is one of the best email clients for macOS. For many - the best, because the standard.

All the benefits of Mail are tied to the Apple ecosystem. You can search emails in Spotlight, send replies from the notification center, and sign documents right in the app.

Pros:

1. Standard Apple App.
2. For free.
3. There is support for macOS, iOS, watchOS.

Minuses:

1. Mediocre work with Gmail, especially on iOS.
2. Smaller, in comparison with third-party clients, functionality.

Site editor Mikk Seed asked me to recommend him a normal client for Email. He was tired of the standard "Mail" for a long time, but he really does not want to trust the working correspondence to the application assembled on his knee. Does it make sense to change something?

To answer his question, I took Apple, Google and Microsoft branded email clients, as well as a couple of third-party applications from top developers. I pushed their foreheads together and found a favorite, which is separately noted at the end of the article.

Each of these email clients turns emails into tasks, guarantees the security of correspondence and opens up access to a number of useful features. But which one to choose?

"Mail" - Apple's standard email client

Advantages: is in the device out of the box, copes with most tasks.

Flaws: No additional features, suffers from notification issues.

Sorry, but I don't have official statistics on the popularity of email clients for iPhone and Mac. However, experience suggests that it is the standard application that is used most often.

After a short setup, you can use it to create and send an email with text, photos and other files as soon as you take the device out of the box.

"Mail" is an excellent email client that really deserves your attention. But he has there are not a lot of really useful features, which will be useful to all those who need electronic to solve work problems.

In "Mail" I have the most lacks smart filter for incoming mail. I want all the useless spam that comes to me very often not to end up in the main directory.

Other users complain about the inability to snooze and schedule an incoming email. This useful opportunity allows you to be reminded of the presence of a received message at an appropriate time - for example, on weekdays.

And in the standard mail client there have always been problems with push notifications. I don’t know what this is connected with, but letters most often arrive with a long delay, and this is inconvenient.

• Download from App Store (for free)
• Built into macOS(for free)

Inbox - Google's proprietary mail service

Advantages: visual message preview and cool smart filter.

Flaws: not suitable for third party email services, no normal Mac app.

If you actively use Gmail mail, a branded email address may be a good choice for you. Google service called Inbox.

For some reason, only this company thought of doing normal email preview: Show text, photos, and other files immediately in the feed. All other solutions are extremely bad with this - usually a simple uninformative strip with a letter.

Inbox coolly filters incoming emails and separates important messages from useless junk in an intelligent way.

However, Inbox also has a number of disadvantages that Google made on purpose. For me the biggest no Mac app. On a computer, you have to use the web version, and this is inconvenient.

Personally, I use Gmail, so on mobile device Inbox would be enough for me. But all other mail services remain practically in the span, and their fans need to look for an alternative.

And Google is too reluctant to optimize its programs for any new iOS features and iPhone in principle, and this is also a big minus of this application.

• Download from App Store (for free)
• Web version for Mac (for free)

Outlook is an all-in-one app for Microsoft

Advantages: in the same style with other Microsoft products, additional organizer features.

Flaws: in the same style as other Microsoft products, overloaded with organizer features.

Among my acquaintances are dozens of users who prefer Microsoft Outlook to all other applications. All of them are united love for the company's software ecosystem, and active use of Office on Mac.

Outlook has a familiar interface for such users and a complete set of all necessary features, so I see no reason not to use it in this case.

However, I do not know a single person who would use this email client separately from Office - such a few.

Microsoft has tried to turn Outlook from a simple email client into a real one. business tool with organizer capabilities and built a calendar, tasks and notes into it.

On the one hand, it's convenient. If you really use email a lot for business purposes, this all-in-one tool will definitely come in handy.

But on the other hand, Outlook is too functional and clumsy. I have long been accustomed to the fact that such combines are slow, and separate programs for each task are much more efficient.

• Download from App Store (for free)
• Download from Mac App Store (Office 365 subscription)

AirMail wins Apple Design Awards

Advantages: stylish minimalist design, plenty of additional features.

Flaws: frequent failures in work that appear at the most inopportune moment.

In 2017, the AirMail app became Apple Design Award Winner. And this is not surprising, because the developers managed to make a truly functional email client for all occasions.

On the one hand, it has the most simple minimalistic interface without unnecessary controls, which most often only distract from regular work tasks.

On the other hand, the developer managed to fit in this interface a complete set of features necessary for even the most advanced users.

It was this application that I have been using for the past months, and I have never been embarrassed by its cost, even with a whole set of free analogues.

However, for some unknown reason, AirMail fails me at the most inopportune moment. Application at times just refuses to work properly, and this is solved only by a complete reboot of the computer.

For example, the last time the program simply did not want to attach to the letter several documents in PDF format, which I urgently needed to send to my colleagues. So I had to say goodbye to him.

• Download from App Store (379 rubles)
• Download from Mac App Store (749 rubles)

Spark is a free mailer that I use now

Advantages: advanced message filter, simple interface, separate menu for attachments.

Flaws: an obvious overload of possibilities, which is sometimes distracting.

A Ukrainian developer company called Readdle is responsible for creating the Spark email client. Although it can be called Ukrainian only with a big stretch, because the head office of the studio has long been located in San Jose, USA.

You may know her for a range of useful everyday office applications, including universal mobile file manager Documents , the advanced Calendars 5 and the cool Scanner Pro pocket scanner .

Spark really makes it possible look at mail in a new way and he hasn't let me down yet.

If, like me, you can no longer use the standard Mail client (especially on OS X Yosemite), then it will be useful for you to familiarize yourself with three alternative email clients, especially since some of them are completely free.

Yes, yes, the same Sparrow, so popular in 2012. Subsequently, the company was taken over by the search giant Google, but small updates still continue to come out.

There is nothing superfluous here: on the left - incoming letters, on the right - tools for viewing a particular letter. Convenient access to "Favorites", "Trash" and other tabs, as well as simplicity and conciseness make Sparrow one of the best solutions in area. Lite version distributed free of charge, for the full one you will have to pay 699 rubles. You can download it from this or this link.

The letter window can be placed on the right or completely separately - in case you always do not have enough free space on your desktop.

Name:
Publisher/Developer:
Price: 599 rub.
In-App Purchases: No
Compatibility: For OS X
Link: Install

Inky

Inky has a cool system for sorting incoming emails by relevance, so it's very easy to process emails. It automatically separates emails into groups - for example, social media, letters from colleagues and others. A nice addition was the presence of a single login for authorization - you can easily use your account on any Mac.

Ideal for large quantities of mail that must always be sorted. Available completely free.

Name: Inky
Publisher/Developer: Inky Inc.
Price: For free
In-App Purchases: No
Compatibility: For OS X
Link: Install

I left this client for last for good reason, as I've been using it successfully for the past few months. We are talking about version 1.0, since (in my opinion) version 2.0 is still “raw” for comfortable use: elements do not work correctly, letters are sent every other time, and so on.

Version 1.0 is a completely different matter, which works stably with all mail services (including Yandex) and has convenient tools for reading mail from several accounts. The standard mail client Mail clearly nervously smokes on the sidelines.

Personally, I was won over by the design of Airmail, although Airmail 2.0 is much better in this parameter. It is impossible to find the first version in now, I advise you to look on the Internet. But the second version can be downloaded easily. Try it, will you like it?

Name:
Publisher/Developer: Bloop
Price: 599 rub.
In-App Purchases: No
Compatibility: For OS X
Link: Install

If you use another email client on Mac or Windows that you really enjoy, share with everyone in the comments.