Email client in 2021

Email - the topic that will never be put to rest.

I’m currently in what I anticipate will be a decade long transition from having many free email addresses to fewer paid ones. So besides email hosting, I’ve been looking at clients. A recent change in my computing (acquiring an M1 MBP) did change things as I no longer need mail on Windows while my wife used our only Mac at home. Here’s what I’ve settled on, but I’m open to suggestions if anyone has other ideas on what I need.

Mail.app (MacOS) - Mostly for filing mail locally(using rules), for email I don’t need, like coupons or bills. Since the M1 is always running, it continues to apply the rules even when the lid is closed. So I no longer need to rely on my Windows box acting as a mail server. It’s not always immediate, but it works. I wish you could use special characters in filters but that doesn’t seem to work. I also like color coding emails forwarded from older accounts.

Spark (macOS/iOS) - I love the swipe gestures and smart notifications. Signatures is done well, and I can’t believe it took me this long to use templates, that’s been incredibly helpful in my work. But there are no rules or local folders. I don’t use any snooze or send later. I hate when apps create their own folders on my IMAP email or when they point to the wrong one. I like that they collect emails from correspondents, but I also wish they used a true CardDAV.

Postbox (Windows) - I looked at many (when I didn’t have daytime access to a Mac) and settled on Postbox. Best UI for Windows, good local folders and rules. Again, they don’t sync with CardDAV.

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