'Thunderbird for iOS' for iPhone is in the early stages of development and the goal is to test it via TestFlight



Development of an iOS version of the free email software 'Thunderbird' available for PC and Android is underway. As of April 2025, it is still in the early stages where major functions such as reading and writing emails cannot be used in a production environment, but development seems to be progressing steadily.

GitHub - thunderbird/thunderbird-ios: Thunderbird for iOS – Open Source Email App for iOS

https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-ios/

Thunderbird for Mobile April 2025 Progress Report - The Thunderbird Blog
https://blog.thunderbird.net/2025/05/thunderbird-for-mobile-april-2025-progress-report/

'Thunderbird' was a separate email client from the Internet suite 'Mozilla' that existed until the early 2000s. The web browser part became 'Firefox'.

Project manager reveals the unknown history of the email software 'Thunderbird' - GIGAZINE



In the past, development was not satisfactory due to a lack of resources, but since Ryan Sipes joined as project manager in 2017, there have been significant improvements, and Thunderbird 115, which incorporates the results of the UI revamp plan 'Supernova,' was released in 2023.

The multi-functional mailer 'Thunderbird' has been updated with a new UI and modern operability, so I checked out various UIs and how to use them - GIGAZINE



In addition, Thunderbird for Android was released in 2024 by incorporating the Android email client 'K-9 Mail.'

Finally, the Android version of Thunderbird is officially released - GIGAZINE



There had been talk of starting an iOS version for some time, but according to an activity report from April 2025, they have published a GitHub repository, set up an Apple Developer account, which will be required for distributing beta versions via TestFlight in the future, and completed the necessary verification procedures. In the case of Thunderbird for Android, the beta version is

distributed on Google Play , but the beta version of Thunderbird for iOS was chosen to be distributed via TestFlight because 'Apple does not like to release beta versions of apps as separate apps.'

The GitHub repository for Thunderbird for iOS can be accessed from the following link. The app itself is still incomplete, even in basic aspects such as reading and writing emails, and the development team's immediate goal is to 'distribute the iOS version via TestFlight.'

GitHub - thunderbird/thunderbird-ios: Thunderbird for iOS – Open Source Email App for iOS
https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-ios/



The Android version, which has already been released, is focusing on incorporating feedback in order to improve stability.

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in Software, Posted by logc_nt