Spark Mail Client goes subscription

I had my issues with Spark a while ago… I simply ended up not trusting them. I have used Mailmate on Mac for a good few years, it’s getting slightly prettier but it’s power makes up for its lack of looks (think DevonThink or Omnifocus)

On iOS Apple mail does the job well enough and is still so tightly integrated into the system it just seems easier not to fight it and just use it.

They have only promised to support v2 for Mac for another year however. So if you don’t like v3, it’s the end of the road I suppose.

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I’m very happy to pay for subscriptions when they’re worth it to me, but Ive decided to switch to the stock mail app because there is nothing in the premium version of spark that is worth paying for (for me) and I am not paying to remove their “sent from spark” adverts

They could have kept me if they’d had two paid tiers. I’d happily pay $0.99 a month for a “supporters” tier which didn’t have the “sent from spark” advert.

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Having played with the new Spark on the Mac, I just don’t like it and that’s it. When I want the Gmail-style view of my email, I go to Gmail; at other times, I want the view to be split into a list of messages and a preview pane, which Spark v3 now apparently does not support on the Mac.

The new Mac version looks half-baked (look at the Twitter threads and how many features people ask for are not implemented yet) and is a major disconnect from the look and feel of the iOS app. This clearly was inspired by Gmail and looks like Gmail in a browser. I mean, seriously, I cannot compose an email in a new window? Integrations are also ‘coming later’.

Maybe I’d consider paying for Spark given how much I love(d) it, but as it doesn’t make sense for me to rely on two different email apps, and I don’t think I like where Spark Desktop on the Mac is now going, I think it’s the end of the road for Spark and me. :frowning_face:

Long time Spark user on all platforms. I’m trying out the “new” Spark, and started 7 day free trial to test it out… While it has some possibly beneficial new features, I’m not sure I can get past simply NOT seeing the sidebar of folders. I also use Sanebox, and it just seems like there is a lot of clicking back and forth to get to various boxes.

I suspect I will end up just sticking with the previous Mac version, which works fine. If they phase that out, may move back to Airmail. There are definitely features on both Spark and Airmail that I like more than Apple Mail (for one, I do use Send Later a fair amount, and this feature is server based for Spark and Airmail so app doesn’t need to be open to ensure it is sent).

I can’t even describe how disappointing this is in every way.

End of an era for me. It sounds dramatic but I’ve been using Spark since 2015 after Mailbox was sunset (and Sparrow before that). Back to Apple Mail.

Edit: I’m giving Spark 3 a chance.

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No, does that still require more than logging out before uninstalling the App?

(Additionally I was using an App specific password which I have revoked)

yes, they keep your info on their servers for push, etc… at the bottom of settings is the delete your info from their servers…

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I’m fascinated by the folks who are choosing to leave an app just because it is Electron. You committed yourself to only using native apps. May I ask why?

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It’s not ideal but you can delete it manually in the email (at least on iPad you can). That annoyance is enough to have me leave the app if I decide to not go Premium. I’m headed back to Apple Mail for the time being to see if it’ll work for me.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

Something something 20 chars :slight_smile:

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My extreme take of choosing to use only native apps is an experiment I’ve been running for most of the year. I’ve always had a preference, but I wanted to see what the experience was like if I went without any electron apps at all. It’s definitely an extreme position, but like I say, an experiment. So far, it’s gone well.

As for the reasons for that preference, it’s all the usual: memory usage, battery life, performance, native UI, system level integration, “Mac-assed app-iness”, etc.

I know for sure that it is possible to build electron apps that hit some of these, but some like battery life and resource usage seem nearly unavoidable; even the initial reply I responded to was talking about the laggy animations on the new Spark mobile app, which I find to be jarring on a machine where everything else is smooth and beautiful.

I expect I will introduce some Electron apps eventually, but for now I’m enjoying getting 12 hours out of my laptop battery rather than 8.

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Yah, my bad. Probably not smart to open that can of worms.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it! I haven’t been too concerned with the crazy battery life these days, but I do spend most of my casual time on my iPad vs my MBP. So maybe that’s part of my confusion…because I don’t think there’s quite the drain on system resources on iPadOS or iOS.

Thanks for sharing!

For sure! I think it’s definitely a personal choice.

When I’m being particularly honest with myself, I’m not sure why I care. I work from home, and when I’m out and about, a power outlet is never far. I bought 64gb of RAM to future proof my MBP, so resources are never constrained. I’m not the biggest Shortcuts user or other tools that benefit from tighter integration.

So, it’s perhaps a weird hill to die on. I think it’s just the Apple fanboy in me. I am thrilled that Electron exists so that the Mac can have apps for services - Slack, Discord, etc. - where we might be stuck in a browser or without an app if it weren’t for Electron. But for things where there are native alternatives like email, notes, etc - I find the experience better.

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Crap! I didn’t know about the “Sent with Spark” signature and liked the app update so far. I just couldn’t justify the subscription cost. Looks like I’m going to move to another mail client then.

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Don’t worry, you may outgrow that :wink:

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Hey, and I didn’t mean to imply you are wrong. We all have preferences and our little hills we die on. This one is a little more confusing to me, which is why I asked. But I’m sure I have plenty of my own “isms” that people think are outrageous. To each their own!

That’s part of why I love this community so much — we can ask questions and not attack someone’s preferences!

I never took it as apple putting ads in mail, calendar, etc…… but in the consumption apps. Have been rumors of a Spotify style free tier of music that would have ads for example. I would rather none of it… but that is big difference. We will see I guess.

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The new desktop app is such a significant departure from how Spark worked before that it will be hard for me to justify subscription. It just does not fit into my workflow any more.

The app is clunky. Integrations (with Todoist, Bear, etc.) are missing. You can’t compose a new email in a new window - everything looks and feels like a web wrapper for Gmail. If I’m going to use that then I might as well use Gmail on the web.

The side panel with the folder view is missing which is a major oversight. The controls are small and unintuitive. Swipes do not seem to work, possibly because the app is not native, so rolling the side roller on my MX3, which I am used to for archiving/deleting email, does not work.

So far I’m only finding things I do not like and things that have been taken away, yet I am supposed to pay for that?

This feels like a half-baked alpha.

Spark on iOS is mostly fine but using two different apps on mobile/desktop and losing some of the features (like Send later) is also pointless. But I guess I will have to move off Spark as the support for the old Spark, which I loved, is guaranteed for only the next year.