Most of us are probably used to using email clients for free since there are a lot of good ones out there that have the basic features we need. But for those looking for more advanced features, there are still subscription services available. One of the more popular ones was Newton Mail but it died, got resurrected, and then died again. Now it looks like they’re back again with their old relatively cheaper subscription fee and this time, the new owners are working on not disappearing again.
After it first disappeared back in 2018 as they could not sustain the business anymore. They were then “saved” a year later by Essential, the makers of the Essential PH-1 Android phone, a company that went under eventually. Now it’s being given a third life with two super-fans taking on the ownership of the email service now known as CloudMagic. Maitrik Kataria and Justin Mitchell have been in the software industry for some time now, although they are the first ones to admit that they are not a “well funded VC backed company.”
For users, nothing much will change for now. They are still maintaining the $50 a year subscription which may seem steep for those used to free email but is actually cheap compared to other services out there. They are also making some special offers for existing and past users. They will be adding 3 months free for current subscribers while those who stopped before but want to come back will get a 20% discount. If you refer someone, they will get 20% discount and you will get 3 more months for free.
The new owners also have a contingency plan for a worst-case scenario in case this new venture will not succeed. They are open sourcing the client and will find a way for self-hosted servers to continue supporting it. But they are still working on a sustainable business by going back to the basics. They will of course still be adding and improving it and in the next 3-6 months, they plan to add dark mode and fix the Superchargers.
The open sourcing of Newton Mail may cause some concerns for privacy and security but they are promising to strengthen this part of the service. They are asking fans to stick with them for the foreseeable future as they try to improve and sustain the product. Let’s see if they’re able to get new users or even at least keep the loyalty of the existing ones.
