Mailbird for Mac: Email functionality meets modern style

On October 21, 2024, Mailbird launched its email client for Mac. After years of customer anticipation, Mailbird's Mac app brings the same clutter-free simplicity and clean design language to Apple fans.

Autumn is often seen as a season for transition and opportunity. For Mailbird, the eagerly awaited release of Mailbird for Mac ushers in not only new opportunities for the company, but also signifies a giant step toward realizing a singular email experience across multiple platforms for all its customers—past, present, and future.

Mailbird spreads its wings—and its reach

The first iteration of the Windows-based Mailbird email client was launched over a decade ago. With its focus on functional simplicity, uncluttered design, and pleasant user experience, the app became the go-to email app for millions of "Mailbirdians" who trust it with their personal and professional email.

But that was only the beginning.

"The launching of Mailbird for Mac marks a truly significant point in our company vision," said Alexis Dollé, Head of Growth at Mailbird. "Although we originally designed Mailbird for Windows, we always envisioned presenting our customers with a cross-platform app so they can enjoy a unified email experience no matter where they are. Mailbird for Mac is the first step towards achieving that goal."

Although a technology company, Mailbird has always been human-centric, explained Alexis. The goal is to help people boost efficiency without turning them into machines—enabling the tool to handle the work, but not at the expense of how they like or are accustomed to working.

"We want to make your inbox smarter so you don't have to spend so much time in it," said Alexis. "We already accomplished this with our PC customers. Now, we're excited to bring this same philosophy of 'simple productivity' to the Apple community."

Meeting customer demands and expectations

There was growing interest from both existing Mailbird for PC users who wanted the same experience on a Mac and Mac users who wanted to escape over-engineered software in favor of Mailbird's simplicity.

To accomplish this, Mailbird's development and design teams had to consider what makes the Windows version so popular and translate that success onto Mac usability, design, and customer expectations.

"The driving force behind the development of Mailbird for Mac was a strong demand from users," said Pawel Majda, Product Manager at Mailbird. "We saw an opportunity to enter a new market and expand our reach to the Mac community, who had previously been underserved by the product."

But the goal was never to create a whole new experience for Mac users, but rather a unified and familiar experience across both Windows and macOS.

"By developing a Mac version, we aim to provide the same easy, beautiful, and efficient email client app that resonates with Windows users," said Pawel. "This ensures Mac owners could also benefit from the streamlined email experience that PC users have been enjoying for many years."

Building a Mac experience on PC success

Customers' needs have always been top of mind for the Mailbird development and design teams. With user-favorite features—unified inbox, email tracking, third-party app integrations, advanced search capabilities, folder organization, and email signatures—Mailbird for Mac possesses the same design and useability DNA that makes the Windows version so popular among PC users.

"We didn't start from scratch," said Kasia Kowalak, UX/UI Designer at Mailbird. "Mailbird for Windows significantly influenced our decisions and vision for the Mac version's design."

By collaborating with software developers, Kasia and her fellow designers sought to retain the strengths of Mailbird for Windows, while producing an app that felt native to the Mac environment.

"Our goal was to create a seamless, cross-platform email experience that resonates specifically with Mac users' needs and aspirations," said Kasia. "We reused successful patterns to recreate core features in a more refined way, ensuring Mailbird for Mac is both beautiful and functional."

However, creating a unified user experience across two different platforms can be challenging. It involves understanding user preferences and expectations, not only software and technological differences.

"When choosing software, Mac users often prioritize design, aesthetics, and an exceptional user experience," said Kasia. "In contrast, Windows users tend to place more importance on customization and flexibility."

This knowledge helped the team design Mailbird for Mac to be clean and minimalist, with a little color twist. Meanwhile, the Windows app continues to offer a wealth of customization options for the UI, email accounts, and app integrations, catering to the different priorities of Windows users.

Mailbird for Mac: Feature highlights

When deciding which features to include in the initial version of Mailbird for Mac, the product team carefully analyzed usage data from the Windows version, conducted extensive user research, and evaluated feedback from their Early Access Program.

"By leveraging all of this information, we prioritized the must-have features for the first version of Mailbird for Mac and deprioritized those that could wait for future updates," said Pawel. "This allowed us to streamline the development process without compromising on the commitment to deliver an enjoyable and effective user experience."

All of this prep work gave the Mailbird development and design teams a wealth of real-world data from the already established Windows version and detailed feedback from the early Mac version.

"Recognizing what worked well gave us a solid foundation," said Kasia. "We saw no need to reinvent features that already resonated with users. Instead, we refreshed and refined them for the Mac environment."

Unified inbox

A very popular Mailbird for Windows feature is seamlessly translated into the familiar Mac design language. It gives you the ability to centralize messages from unlimited email accounts into a single inbox, simplifying email management and optimizing workflow.

Email tracking

A core email function, email tracking helps you quickly identify which recipients opened your message and when they did so. These real-time notifications help you time follow-up messages more effectively and assess engagement with your communications.

App integrations

A unique and powerful feature, app integrations can transform Mailbird for Mac into more than an email client. It allows you to create your own productivity workspace by seamlessly integrating popular third-party apps with Mailbird, such as Google Calendar, Facebook, and Todoist.

Advanced search

The more accounts and messages you have in your inbox, the more challenging it can be to quickly locate something, unless you diligently organize your messages. But Mailbird for Mac's advanced search tool allows you to effortlessly locate any message or attachment.

Folder organization

One of the keys to reducing inbox clutter is to organize messages into folders and sub-folders. This helps to not only keep top-level inboxes clean but also contributes to more efficient email management.

Account-based signatures

Mailbird for Mac's redesigned account-based email signatures allows you to create multiple signatures for each account. You can then manage different signatures for different purposes and occasions.

An ongoing journey

The first version of Mailbird for Mac is a gentle balance of style and substance that Mac users are very familiar with. It marries simple and uncluttered design with core email functionality.

However, the company's development and design teams know that these are Mailbird for Mac's first steps; there will be many more to follow.

The team plans to continue developing and growing the app with the same user-centric approach and have already opened a new Early Adopter Program. This program lets participants get exclusive early access to Mailbird's newest features before they're publicly available.

By capitalizing on the proven benefits of Mailbird for Windows and translating that success into Mac design language and user experience, Mailbird has taken a giant step towards reaching its vision of a true cross-platform email application. And the positive feedback that Mailbird for Mac has received after only a few weeks of its availability proves the app's heading in the right direction: soaring skyward.