xda-developers: Newton Mail is back from the dead (again) under new ownership

Monday, May 11, 2020

Newton Mail is back from the dead (again) under new ownership

While app stores have hundreds of email apps to choose from, there are very few actually good ones. Sadly, a lot of great email apps have shut down over the years, incapable of competing with goliaths like the official Gmail app. Back in February, we lost one such app. Newton Mail, which had just been saved from one shutdown, was set to be shut down again alongside Essential. Now, the app is back with new ownership.

An indie development agency led by Maitrik Kataria and Justin Mitchell decided to take action this time and they now own CloudMagic/Newton Mail. Kataria notes that they are not some well-funded VC backed company, but they love building products. They have years of experience designing software for startups and other companies. First and foremost, though, they were Newton Mail users.

So what’s next for Newton Mail? With all the previous shutdowns in mind, the new team wants to make sure Newton can live forever. That means open-sourcing the project and finding a way for self-hosted servers to support the product indefinitely.

Another big part of keeping Newton Mail alive for the long haul is keeping the business afloat. The new owners say they will be going “back to basics,” but they won’t be raising the prices. Newton costs $50 a month, which is actually cheaper than a lot of professional email clients on the market.

Down the line, Justin and Maitrik want to improve Newton Mail’s customer support, which they say was terrible. Support will be built right into the app and there will be a new open voting platform for feature requests. They also plan to deliver new features within three to six months. Dark Mode is one feature that they mention.

Lastly, they will be offering some deals for existing and past Newton Mail users. During the month of May, current subscribers will get 3 months for free. People who have canceled subscriptions in the past can come back with a 20% discount. You can also refer a friend for 3 free months for yourself and 20% off for them.