Thunderbird is a free and open-source cross-platform software created as a complete client-side email suite by Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser. The program offers an email client, calendar, to-do list, RSS reader, and a chat tool.
Thunderbird 91, the previous major version, was launched on August 11 last year, so it’s time to see what’s new in Thunderbird 102, which was just released.
What’s New in Thunderbird 102
The new Thunderbird version represents a significant breakthrough in the evolution of this widely used email client. The new features have an impact on both the app’s appearance and functionality.
The changes made to the application’s user interface will undoubtedly be the first thing the user notices.
Thunderbird 102 has a central Spaces Toolbar for quick and easy access to your most important application operations. So, now, you may switch between Mail, Address Book, Calendar, Tasks, Chat, and your add-ons with a single click.
As you can see from the image above, the new colored icons are another noticeable visual improvement. They undoubtedly give the app a much more refreshed and modern look.
In the new version, the address book has also undergone significant changes. The Address Bookโs new design makes navigating and engaging with your contacts easier. In addition, it is now in a tab by default.
When viewing a contact, the new dedicated Edit mode safeguards your contact data from unintentional changes and provides a richer visual presentation.
Another area where the new Thunderbird 102 improves is message headers. The revamped message header helps us focus on what matters by highlighting important information when reading your email. Itโs also more responsive and simpler to use.
Moreover, you can now star important messages and convert them into a calendar event or a task right there.
We won’t fail to mention a convenient feature that has made its way into the latest release. When you insert links into your message, you may now convert the plain text link into a rich link preview containing content from the target website.
However, for this option to be active, you need to activate it from “Settings” -> “Composition” and tick the “Add link previews when parsing URLs” checkbox.
The emphasis on security is also not overlooked in this release. Thunderbird 102 includes out-of-the-box support for the popular, decentralized chat system Matrix. In addition, it offers encrypted messaging, VOIP, and data transfer capabilities, and its feature set is continually developing.
You can refer to the official announcement for detailed information about all changes.
Currently, Thunderbird 102 is only offered as direct download from the official Thunderbird website. However, users of rolling release Linux distributions such as Arch Linux, Void Linux, and others are anticipated to be among the first to receive updates to the new version in the coming days.
