Thunderbird, the legendary email client developed by Mozilla, just launched its biggest update of the year. You can install Thunderbird 128 “Nebula” today via direct download or wait a few weeks for the automatic rollout.
Like last year’s big “Supernova” update, the new “Nebula” release introduces several quality of life improvements and cosmetic changes. The Cards View for your inbox now features a more intuitive layout that makes it easier to see information at a glance. Plus, the Folder Pane now lets you select multiple folders at a time and should feel more responsive, especially when searching unified folders.
Menu navigation should feel a lot more modern throughout the Thunderbird desktop app, as everything’s been reorganized, minimized, or retooled to provide a smoother experience. You’ll also encounter more icons in the Thunderbird app, and account colors are now customizable.
Windows users get some extra love, as Thunderbird 128 supports Windows 11’s desktop notification system. And if you’re on a Linux distro, specifically Ubuntu or Mint, Thunderbird will now match your system’s accent colors.
However, the biggest improvement is something that the average user won’t notice—Rust integration. The Rust programming language will accelerate Thunderbird development, as it ensures that features built for the desktop version of Thunderbird can be quickly ported to the mobile app.
Speaking of the Thunderbird mobile app—well, it’s still in development. A new Thunderbird for Android Progress Report should arrive in the next week or two, and you can beta test the app (which is still called K-9 Mail) if you’re desperate enough to do so.
A future version of Thunderbird 128 will include Exchange and Mozilla Sync functionality. Advanced users can test Exchange today, though it’s still pretty buggy.
Thunderbird 128 “Nebula” is now available as a direct download for Windows, Linux, and macOS. If you want to experience this update today, you must download it manually, as automatic updates are disabled until Thunderbird confirms that Nebula is stable enough for a full rollout.
Source: Thunderbird
