WMail is a free, open source desktop client for Gmail and Google Inbox, available for Linux, Windows, and Mac.
The application is a wrapper for Gmail / Google Inbox with unlimited account support, on top of which it adds features such as native desktop notifications (notification bubble and sound), unread email counter in the tray, and more.
Compared to other such applications, like Franz or Rambox, which support many other services, WMail provides a lot more customization, including per-account settings, and it integrates more tightly with the desktop. For instance, both Franz and Rambox notify you about new emails, but they don't display the most recent emails in the indicator / tray menu, like WMail.
Also, WMail provides native desktop notifications (Franz and Rambox suppose to support this as well, but at least for me, the notifications don't work for Gmail), and an unread email counter on the Unity launcher (which Rambox supports but Franz doesn't).
Therefore, WMail is more useful if you only need Gmail, especially if you use multiple Gmail accounts, however, alternatives like Franz or Rambox might be a better option if you use multiple services.
Therefore, WMail is more useful if you only need Gmail, especially if you use multiple Gmail accounts, however, alternatives like Franz or Rambox might be a better option if you use multiple services.
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| WMail settings and the Unity Launcher unread email badge counter |
The latest WMail 2.0.0 stable includes quite a few interesting changes. For instance, on Linux, there's a new option to ignore GPU blacklist (Settings > Advanced), which should solve rendering issues, another new option for displaying the unread email count in the Unity launcher icon, and more.
Here's a list of the most interesting changes in WMail 2.0.0 (stable):
- Tray / AppIndicator changes:
- tray icon designer in the settings screen;
- option to change the background color of the tray icon;
- auto-theming of tray depending on OS theme;
- DPI Multiplier for tray icon for users with 4K monitors;
- changed tray menu to have submenus for each mailbox (see the first screenshot in this article);
- focus the WMail window when clicking on emails in the tray;
- User interface:
- unread count over app icon for Ubuntu users using Unity (General > Show app unread badge);
- removed excess top space from side-menu on Linux, Windows and when the toolbar is enabled;
- add option to set your own CSS and JavaScript on a per mailbox basis;
- detecting when you launch WMail in an offline state and showing a splash screen rather than a broken WMail;
- changed the layout of the settings screen to use the available screen space;
- support for 38+ dictionary languages;
- added Primary Inbox support for Gmail;
- added ignore-gpu-blacklist flag under advanced for Linux users having rendering issues;
- updated to Chrome 53, Electron 1.4.4 and React 15.3.2.
There are quite a few other changes and various bug fixes. For a complete list, see the application GitHub page.
Note that some of these changes were already available in WMail if you were using a prerelease, and not the stable version.
Download WMail
Download WMail (binaries available for Linux - deb and generic, Windows and Mac)
If you encounter bugs, report them @ GitHub.
