Fastmail desktop app

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Tech stack and “native app” controversy

  • Commenters quickly confirm the app is an Electron wrapper around the existing web UI (Electron 38.2.2), not a traditional native client.
  • Some see the marketing phrase “native apps for Mac, Windows & Linux” (e.g. in og:description) as misleading, since it’s effectively a bundled browser.
  • Several people note macOS styling doesn’t match current “Liquid Glass” aesthetics, reinforcing that it doesn’t feel native.

Electron performance, resource use, and UX

  • Strong split:
    • Critics call Electron “bloat,” citing large disk/RAM use (hundreds of MB idle), worse battery usage, sluggish startup, and non-native windowing.
    • Defenders argue Electron is the only realistic way for a small team to ship a full-featured, cross‑platform client quickly; performance is “good enough” and comparable to modern browsers.
  • There’s broader debate comparing Electron to QT, Tauri, Flutter, webviews, and native toolkits, with no consensus on a clearly better alternative for a small, cross‑platform team.

Why a desktop app vs web, IMAP clients, or PWA

  • Many ask what this adds over:
    • Keeping Fastmail open in a browser tab or site-specific browser window.
    • Using standard IMAP clients like Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Evolution, etc.
  • A Fastmail representative says the goals are:
    • Dedicated app separation (dock icon, Cmd‑Tab, default mail handler, OS menus/context menus).
    • Reuse of the existing web codebase for email/contacts/calendar across all platforms.
    • Faster sync and navigation via JMAP vs IMAP, plus server-side features (send later, pin/mute, memos, masked email, better search).

Offline support

  • Fastmail markets the app’s offline capability, but commenters point out the browser version can also work offline once a setting is enabled; some had missed this.
  • For some, offline support is the only reason to consider the desktop app; others say that alone doesn’t justify installing Electron.

Ecosystem, JMAP, and Thunderbird

  • Multiple users argue it would be better if Fastmail invested in JMAP support in Thunderbird and other clients rather than shipping their own Electron app.
  • Others counter that:
    • Fastmail already invests heavily in open standards (JMAP RFCs, Cyrus server, IETF work).
    • There are business and onboarding reasons to offer a Fastmail-branded app that “just works” without users discovering/configuring third‑party clients.

User priorities and worries

  • Some paying users see this as misallocated effort versus:
    • Improving spam filtering, calendar (multi‑timezone, booking links), or search.
    • Expanding third‑party integrations or Gmail‑compatible APIs.
    • Better mobile behavior (Android performance, clearer offline on iOS).
  • A few express concern this might signal a future shift toward UI lock‑in or away from IMAP, which Fastmail explicitly denies. Others welcome the app and report it feels faster and more integrated than Thunderbird for them.