Thunderbird team improves K-9 Mail with Material 3 design and Android 14 enhancements

The Thunderbird team has released its May progress report on the transition of K-9 Mail, the open-source Android email client, into Thunderbird for Android. A key development is the ongoing conversion of the user interface to Material 3, which updates the style of buttons and dialogs and will soon replace many icons throughout the app. The switch to Material 3 is driven by the ability to support dynamic colors, allowing the app to optionally use the system color scheme derived from the wallpaper.

The latest beta versions now include changes to target Android 14. Additionally, the team has improved developer documentation accessibility and enhanced IMAP protocol communication, reducing the number of network packets needed for certain actions. Work has also begun on supporting Android's new back gesture, called predictive back.