Popular Email Client Spark Gets Major Redesign For Mac, Moves to Subscription Model

[bruno7]

Well, I've been using Spark on Mac and iPhone for years now. Loved it. Looked and worked better than native apps. At least for me.

First they completely messed up the iOS app.

Now they completely messed up MacOS app. I've been testing Beta for months and I genuinely hate it. So much. Nothing works for me here with the new view, no constant folder view on the left, and sooo many more things...

And then they come with a subscription. F**k me.

So just as I saved the old Spark for iOS and will be using it till it stops working, I'm about to do the same on my Mac.


Shame though, as I really liked the good old Spark....

 

[spradling]

Whelp, to those that are concerned about removing the Email Signature they force on you, I was hoping to be “grandfathered in” due to settings being in place or something…

View attachment 2088054

Nope! Which means I can’t use it for work, and TBH, who really wants to send an email with a blurb like this anyway? Looks like I’m officially moving away from Spark to Edison and then Outlook for work. Super Booooo…

You CAN remove the “Sent with Spark”, but you have to do it every time you send an email, by tapping on it, a ‘X’ appears. Premium let’s you remove it forever.

 

[Steve121178]

I've been using Spark for years and I have no problem with them trying to earn money via subscription for their work BUT the macOS app is an absolute car crash. I am struggling to understand their decisions as its very badly designed. The lack of dark mode is also a killer as I'm blinded by a bright white UI when my eyes are used to dark interfaces. It looks and feels like a pre-alpha build.

I'll give it a few days to see if I can get used to it and Sparks bad decisions but I think I may have to cancel my subscription before the trial ends which is a shame as I have been a very happy Spark user and strongly recommended them to friends and family over the years.

We've waited what feels like forever for a redesign to the apps. It would have made more sense to wait a bit longer until they were actually ready before launching them. Disappointing.

 

[gank41]

Edison sell all your emails to advertising companies though.

It's important to note that your statement is vague compared to Edison's detailed explanation:

https://mailsupport.edison.tech/hc/en-us/articles/115003590403-How-do-I-opt-out-of-data-sharing-or-delete-my-stored-data-

Edison took a lot of flack initially and then have since clamped down on privacy. They're pretty straight forward with what they do and don't do. I'd be curious to know Apple's policies on using their Mail app.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

It's 2022, and you still need to pay to read your emails.

You don't need to, I read my emails for free.

I also wonder when the "it's *current year*" followed by some statement thing will finally come to an end.

 

[gank41]

You CAN remove the “Sent with Spark”, but you have to do it every time you send an email, by tapping on it, a ‘X’ appears. Premium let’s you remove it forever.

As I noted here, I can't afford that one time where I'd forget to change the Signature. Sometimes work gets hectic and you miss things. If I wasn't able to automatically have my work Signature there and had to change it each & every time, I'd go mad.

And considering that a Signature, to me anyway, is just another part of the contents of an email, I'm strongly against any Email App inserting their own words into Emails I may send. That may sound silly or trivial, but to each their own.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

And considering that a Signature, to me anyway, is just another part of the contents of an email, I'm strongly against any Email App inserting their own words into Emails I may send. That may sound silly or trivial, but to each their own.

Same here, I ALWAYS notice a person's signature. And if this is a business email, that kind of thing is a bad look.

 

[mfm77]

I’d been using Spark on and off for a few years. The iOS and iPadOS apps were decent, but there was some bugs (like the badge count) that just never got fixed no matter how many times I and others reported them. I always got the canned response and felt like they were seeing my issue for the first time when MANY others clearly reported it. Still, I came back a couple of times because I generally liked the apps, especially the macOS app.

However, with these changes, it’s adios to Spark and Readdle apps in general. I’ve found their apps to be usable but resource heavy (PDF Expert especially) to begin with, and the idea of paying for things like signature removal are a total turn off. And no dark mode on a new macOS app? What were they thinking? Also (and not that I use it on Windows), they’d been overpromising a Windows app for YEARS, but it sounds like they underdelivered on version 1.0.

I’m not a fan of the Apple native apps due to their lack of integrations and overall UI. I’ve been one of those people who have questioned paying for an email service like Hey or Superhuman, but I may have to at least take one for a test ride since I’m looking for something with more features. I have subscriptions to other apps and will renew if updates are made (I dumped Tweetbot after months of no updates), but it has to be worth my while.

 

[Pilot Jones]

Whelp, to those that are concerned about removing the Email Signature they force on you, I was hoping to be “grandfathered in” due to settings being in place or something…

View attachment 2088054

Nope! Which means I can’t use it for work, and TBH, who really wants to send an email with a blurb like this anyway? Looks like I’m officially moving away from Spark to Edison and then Outlook for work. Super Booooo…

That's awful. I think I'm one of the lucky few who somehow escaped this. I don't pay for Spark and here's what my Signatures menu looks like:

The best thing I can do now is just freeze this app and never update it until it completely stops working. In the meantime, I'll try and find a suitable replacement.

 

[HouseofG]

I feel like this was a decision that isn’t going to end well…🤦🏼‍♂️

Well, to be fair, that's what many, if not most of us said about Fantastical, and they seem to be chugging along just fine. What's going to happen, they lose users who weren't paying anything to begin with?

That said, I've already dropped Spark and moved back to Airmail (in iOS - on Mac, I'm fine with using Outlook for work and Gmail via web for personal).

Not sure why I switched from Airmail in the first place. It wasn't the cost since I see that I am still "Pro" in Airmail, and it covers my 3 primary requirements for efficient emal workflow: (i) in-app browser, (ii) return to email list (instead of going to next email) when deleting the current email being read, and (iii) button layouts and swipe functions that work the way I want them to. And, hey, no forced friggin' email footer!

 

[fiatlux]

I also wonder when the "it's *current year*" followed by some statement thing will finally come to an end.

It's 2022 and the "it's *current year*" followed by some statement have still not come to an end.

 

[BB8]

$60 a year for an email client lol.

 

[Burger Thing]

Well, I've been using Spark on Mac and iPhone for years now. Loved it. Looked and worked better than native apps. At least for me.

First they completely messed up the iOS app.

Now they completely messed up MacOS app. I've been testing Beta for months and I genuinely hate it. So much. Nothing works for me here with the new view, no constant folder view on the left, and sooo many more things...

And then they come with a subscription. F**k me.

So just as I saved the old Spark for iOS and will be using it till it stops working, I'm about to do the same on my Mac.


Shame though, as I really liked the good old Spark....

I couldn't agree more. I don't even want to engage in the subscription model discussions. What is completely effed up, is the user interface. Like you said, the missing constant folder / mailbox view alone is a deal breaker, then the inbox mess of a screen, etc. A home screen? On an email client? Then the limited calender functions... Deleted.

 

[BB8]

I guess what I don't understand is the massive gulf between free and premium for all these applications going subscription. These are the sort of apps that used to be $3-5 one time payments on the app store. I would pay $5-10 a year to remove the "sent by spark" message alone. That's about how much an Overcast subscription is, I think. I'm not going to pay $60 a year for an email client, no matter how many weird niche features they throw at me. At that point, you might as well just get an O365 subscription and use Outlook.

 

[Nikita Tanchuk]

I don’t understand the appeal for services like this. What is missing from native/built in apps?

I use Apple Mail, it does everything I could think anyone needs. It even has an Undo option now. I use Outlook and Microsoft Mail on my other devices, they too have pretty much what I need.

Why pay for a subscription? This is an honest question.

We have developed a new way to manage email with heightened focus. In fact, all the basic email functionality of Spark remains free, with a premium subscription granting access to tools that allow you to streamline your inbox for priority conversations, and really cut out all the noise.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

@Nikita Tanchuk The advertised discount for existing users doesn't seem to exist. I am shown the full annual price as an existing member.

 

[HouseofG]

We have developed a new way to manage email with heightened focus. In fact, all the basic email functionality of Spark remains free, with a premium subscription granting access to tools that allow you to streamline your inbox for priority conversations, and really cut out all the noise.

Remove the forced email signature and this position will carry more weight.

 

[Deadlyknapsack]

I sent feedback about the signature paywall and got this response (seems like they didn't see the response coming):


Thank you for contacting Spark Support Team.

As an existing customer, you maintain free use of all the features you had access to in the previous version of Spark, including disabling the Sent with Spark tagline. Our development team has identified a bug that forces existing users into a paywall and will be releasing a hotfix shortly.

Once fixed you need to head into the settings to disable this feature. Within the settings panel, go to the composer section, click on Signatures and then toggle Display “Sent with Spark’ tagline.

Should you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

 

[posguy99]

What, people pay for email? Folks it’s email

Of course I pay for email. Been a happy Fastmail customer for *YEARS*.

 

[HouseofG]

I sent feedback about the signature paywall and got this response (seems like they didn't see the response coming):


Thank you for contacting Spark Support Team.

As an existing customer, you maintain free use of all the features you had access to in the previous version of Spark, including disabling the Sent with Spark tagline. Our development team has identified a bug that forces existing users into a paywall and will be releasing a hotfix shortly.

Once fixed you need to head into the settings to disable this feature. Within the settings panel, go to the composer section, click on Signatures and then toggle Display “Sent with Spark’ tagline.

Should you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

That's really great to hear, but no way it was unintentional. There was some sort of lip service to our at least supporting them by making the brand known out there (since I got rid of it, I can't look back now). Barring some other pressing reason, I'm sticking with Airmail now that I made the change (again).

 

[eltoslightfoot]

When will these companies learn that we do not want subscription models! Can't afford Netflix right now? Cancel the sub and re-subscribe in a couple months when you can afford it. But for email clients/note taking apps/dog walking reminders - count me out. I'd much prefer to pay a one-off upfront cost and have the choice if I want to upgrade in a couple of years time to the latest version.

Good point. I switched to DevonThink as my note-taking app. No subscription model. Same with Omnifocus (just avoid overpriced Web version--which is subscription) and Scrivener. It is possible to mostly avoid subscription models.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

Of course I pay for email. Been a happy Fastmail customer for *YEARS*.

Everyone pays for their email. Either with their data or cash. That being said, I use Fastmail also, and a very happy customer.

 

[BB8]

Fastmail is an email service. This is literally just the email client you are paying for with Spark.

 

[posguy99]

Fastmail is an email service. This is literally just the email client you are paying for with Spark.

Of course. But that's not what @MauiPa meant.

 

[mfm77]

That's really great to hear, but no way it was unintentional. There was some sort of lip service to our at least supporting them by making the brand known out there (since I got rid of it, I can't look back now). Barring some other pressing reason, I'm sticking with Airmail now that I made the change (again).

Readdle now is claiming that the forced signature was a bug? Talk about insulting our intelligence. They clearly saw the bashing they were getting on social media (especially Twitter) and decided to abandon the forced signature. That’s really bad customer service, but given their typical responses to customers’ reported issues, I can’t say I’m too surprised. I still respect them as a company and hope the best for them, but they had more than enough time to eliminate the glaring deficiencies in the app updates.