It's up to the people running the show where on the axis they decide to plant themselves. There is always a balance that can be found between finding a presentation that aligns with market trends and a presentation that stands out and draws attention. It reminds me of architecture: there is always the disconnect between people who like an older style (like when Classical Mediterranean architecture came back in vogue and we saw a bunch of public buildings being built with all pillars and triangles) and people who want some kind of new experimental style (like when Jugendstil started appearing). For example in computer UI design we had flat, then went shapely, then went flat again. I don't really know about the dated look, though. Regardless, on the topic of drawing new users, if the users truly are 'new', then any look will be unfamiliar to them, but yes, luring users over from competitors may be tricky.

Well, if you were to ask me whether I think a group of teenagers is smarter than a chimpanzee. Signed: someone who still calls a tall building in Chicago as the Sears TowerĪh, I see. And until 'Thunderbird for Android' is significantly differentiated in functionality (i.e., ignoring UI), it will remain branded in my mind as K9. I will continue to use Outlook until there is a significant justification to switch to Thunderbird. This would be a considerable (IMO) differentiation in functionality. I know I sound like a broken record but, at minimum, I believe Thunderbird could take quite a few users (who prefer privacy-focused apps) from both Google and Microsoft (not to mention 3rd-party apps ) by integrating functionality at the local level. I acknowledge it's your time/money but this does not make the app any more appealing. Little UI design changes are NOT what you should be spending time/money on they are a waste of effort given K9's already strong usability. One random guy's opinion (and a long-time K9 user):

Thunderbird mobile android