I find Gmail hot garbage in general. Switched to proton mail and it's similar to how Gmail used to be when it was good. Also has google integration so it makes the transition easy
This is the main thing that put me off them too. Not going to use some desktop app to allow my server to send email on my behalf. I use Zoho mail now and while it isn't perfect it does what I need.
I remember trying K9 years ago and the UI/UX felt hostile to me trying to add accounts and I uninstalled it. Tried it again last year or so and it was painless. It just worked.
It's now my default email app and I look forward to improvements as it becomes Thunderbird.
Gmail app in particular has been basically abandoned for the last 4+ major android versions. I only really use it for my work email on a Shelter profile since it's just to handle urgent stuff if I'm afk. But even that minimal use has me about ready to install k-9 on the work profile too.
Maybe my memory is bring foiled by nostalgia, but i honestly remember the Gmail Inbox app being better than the current Gmail app. Clearly google can output a good UI, they just 100% choose not to.
The built-in email app for an OS doesnt have to be amazing, but it at least needs to be reasonable. iOS Mail isn't amazing either, but compared to the Gmail app it's a feature-packed power user tool.
They are blind and lost. Nest hasn't had a feature update since they acquired them 10 years ago. Their thermostats don't even have a "its freezing outside and the air conditioner shouldn't run" feature. Fi rots on the vine. Their camera service is terrible and they just raised the rates. Garbage company anymore.
When you like tech and understand email then FairEmail is nice. If you don't understand the email technology, don't need features and just want it as simple as possible, choose K9.
Not only do I not use Gmail, but I also run my own mail, calendar, and contacts servers. It's not for everyone, but I have control of all my stuff going back to 1997.
I stopped clicking on android authority links after they faked a drop test to make an iPhone look good
That said, what are people using nowadays or what. I tried skiff earlier this year and then it almost immediately announced they were stopping their email service
I can't imagine the stress if I'd had anything important I needed to transfer to another email. I mean, besides losing everything of course
Edit: relevant absolutely ridiculous, watching it again. No shame! I wonder if they ever even addressed it
K9 / Thunderbird seems alright. But I don't need a whole lot for my mail and the only real benefit of them is that it isn't Google and it is open source. I don't think it currently works well with spam flagging though.
I switched to proton mail about 3 months ago since I was already using proton VPN and pass and I'm very happy with it so far. If you use pass + mail you can easily create website-specific aliases (automatically or with a few button presses) so you don't expose your own email, and if you start getting spam you'll know exactly who sold your email.
Primary downside is that since all of your mail is encrypted, on mobile you can only use the official proton mail app, not any third party apps. On desktop there is a bridge app that lets you use others though (I personally use thunderbird)
I had a free ProtonMail account I haven't been using, so I'll have to pick it back up. I did manage after a few attempts to properly configure Thunderbird, at least for my mail. Couldn't get it up and running on the Calendar side.
I like tuta.com (formerly Tutanota). The mobile app is really simple—so much so that they've only recently added a red and blue themed dark mode. Aside from that, I have never encountered any problems in my few years of using it.
They offer both free and paid plans. I recently decided to subscribe to Tuta to support their project, although in previous years the free plan worked fine for me.