On Android, you can choose whatever browser or launcher or any apps you want as default. I managed to find good alternatives (e.g. Brave instead of Chrome...etc.) , but email is the one thing I am still struggling with. I use Gmail and have tried the followings:
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Main Gmail app : it comes preinstalled. I can easily do a search, e.g. search for a starred email from 3 months ago, Gmail app shows immediately. Email format is shitty, some emails' font sizes appear too small. You cant "Mark as Read" from Notification shade.....
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Fairmail: I appreciate the dev's response. Very customizable. Emails are formatted very well. BUT.... I'm not sure if there are hidden changes recently, but Fairmail tends to go to a "deep sleep" state where I get zero notifications unless I open the app. Other time, it is even worse: I get notifications for emails from 2pm onward, but everything before is not notified unless I open the app. Performing the search function like Gmail above results in very slow and laggy app.
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Outlook: Their email app is good, but very often, I have ads within my inbox. Emails are formatted very well. In addition, the calendar app can cause conflict:
My phone has its own Calendar app (Google, 3rd party...etc). If I respond "Yes" to a meeting in an email, that creates a meeting within the Outlook app for my Gmail account. Sometimes, this does not sync with the web calendar from Gmail. This means I can literally have 2 Gmail calendar opened (Outlook and phone) and they are mismatched.
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K9/Thunderbird: Most recent comments from Google Play Store say they are shit. I tried and they load the emails well, format is much better than Gmail app. But we have similar problem as Fairmail above: sometimes the app just doesnt sync unless you open it.
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Edison/Sparks: I used Spark in its early days. It was great back then. Now? Too much AI bs. Too much. The app sometimes pops a message asking you to subscribe to use AI....
Any recommendation? I just want a normal email app, with none of the paywall and AI bs. Or just use Gmail from the web and forward emails to Proton/Tuta to read on Android?
I left spark once the AI crap started being introduced. I also realized how terrible the "single sign on" feature, where you make an account and it saves all your email accounts in it for you.
K9 has worked fine for me for a few years now.
Reviews are from people opposed to any change when Thunderbird took over, which were pretty negligible btw.
With whatever client you pick, check the fetch settings, which for K9 are found when you click on an account in the main settings menu.
K9 doesn't use google play services for push notifications, so it will never be instant. You can have it check every 15 minutes or up to 24hrs depending on how you need to balance battery vs checking. I have mine set to an hour (I think that is the default?)
You should also check the app's battery settings and make sure background usage is enabled or battery saver is off.