[MlMt] AltaMail vs. Preside?

[Bryce Wray]

Alain,

Thanks for your response! Also, I concur with the response you received 
about bringing the bugginess to the developer’s attention; am sure 
he’ll want to know since this definitely doesn’t sound like 
standards-compliant behavior.

Best wishes,

Bryce Wray
bwray at wraytx.com
https://brycewray.com

On 10 May 2020, at 9:45, aisrael wrote:

> I am also using Preside, which I find superior to Altamail, 
> essentially for its customisation options (although navigating these 
> endless menus and remembering where you are is a bit of a challenge). 
> Besides Preside is free while Altamail charges you for upgrades (if I 
> understood correctly).
> There is however one problem that I seem to experience with Preside, 
> but which wasn’t present last year : when I delete emails on 
> Mailmate, they remain in the Preside Inbox, but when I move emails in 
> Mailmate (from the Inbox to a specific mailbox), it works OK : they 
> disappear from the Preside Inbox and can be found in the target 
> mailbox. I thought this was because the designated Deleted mailbox was 
> different in the 2 apps, but this is not the case. This is a bit 
> irritating (to say the least), and I can’t seem to find a way to fix 
> this.
>
> Alain
>
> On 10 May 2020, at 16:25, Eric Sharakan wrote:
>
>> Hi, I've chosen Preside (I'm using it now). I completely agree with 
>> the author's thoughts on notifications and productivity so that's not 
>> a negative for  me at all.  The big pluses for me are the 
>> customization options and the support for tags using IMAP keywords, 
>> which are totally compatible with MailMate.
>>
>> I do find the customization menus terribly confusing to navigate, but 
>> now that it's setup as I like I almost never need to go there. I also 
>> find the iPad version more confusing and less satisfying than the 
>> iPhone version. There are annoying differences between the two and no 
>> way to sync settings that I've found.
>>
>> One other negative I've found is the html rendering is not always 
>> spot on. If you dig through the options you will find that there are 
>> two different html rendering engines. I've sometimes had to switch 
>> between the two for certain emails to render properly.
>>
>> Overall I'm extremely happy with Preside and thrilled that I don't 
>> have to use Apple's inferior mail apps on either iOS or macOS.
>>
>> -Eric
>>
>> On May 9, 2020 at 13:07:46 EDT, Bryce Wray <bwray at wraytx.com> wrote:
>>
>> Fellow MailMate users,
>>   
>>
>> I apologize in advance for the length of this! However, there’s a 
>> lot to unpack here.
>>
>> A search of the list archives suggests that those of you seeking a 
>> MailMate-like experience on iOS have generally ended up with one of 
>> two apps, either AltaMail or Preside. I am trying both now—and, in 
>> the interests of full disclosure, wish to note that I plan to write a 
>> (totally unpaid-for) blog post about this subject—so I would 
>> appreciate knowing your feelings, if any, about each app **and** 
>> whether you’ve actually made either your go-to iOS mail app. *(Re 
>> the blog post: rest assured I would quote you by name* ***only*** *if 
>> you explicitly approve. I mainly just want to get a “sense of the 
>> room,” but would also appreciate some particularly cogent quotes if 
>> applicable.)*
>>
>> To be sporting about it, I’ll go first—with the caveat that I’m 
>> not nearly as heavy a power user as I suspect the vast majority of 
>> you are, so I’m doubtless missing a **lot** of stuff; hence, my 
>> curiosity about *your* opinions. I will spare you multiple “IMHO” 
>> qualifiers, since this is *all* in my humble 
>> opinion . . .
>>
>> ## AltaMail
>>
>> - Pros
>> 	- Real-time, highly configurable notifications.
>> 	- Ability to navigate folders at multiple levels.
>> 	- Apparently thorough adherence to email standards.
>> 	- Syncs many settings among multiple devices via iCloud (although 
>> this can be a gotcha if you’re not careful, such as with “Sent 
>> from my” signature lines that reference a specific device).
>> 	- [Have nothing to say about the vendor’s responsiveness, since I 
>> haven’t yet requested help.]
>>
>> - Cons
>> 	- Menus’ on-screen structure and modalities make it difficult to 
>> navigate through folder levels, especially on iPhone-sized screen. 
>> (Its biggest flaw.)
>> 	- Real-time notifications require keeping the app always running in 
>> background.
>> 	- Sync with large IMAP folders can be slow on first access 
>> (apparently not done in background, which may be to save battery 
>> juice).
>> 	- Some oddities with customizing received/sent emails’ 
>> appearances.
>> 	- Doesn’t make efficient use of extra real estate on iPad, even 
>> when explicitly set for that device.
>> 	- User docs appear to lack comprehensive details, are difficult to 
>> navigate, and lack screen captures.
>> 	- Enforced subscription model after initial free trial.
>> 	- Doesn’t use Markdown.
>>
>>
>> ## Preside
>>
>> - Pros
>> 	- Ability to navigate folders, easily, at multiple levels.
>> 	- Vast customization options for both functionality and 
>> look-and-feel, organized for easy config once you’ve had time to 
>> get used to it.
>> 	- Makes good use of iPad screen size while keeping consistent 
>> look-and-feel with iPhone version.
>> 	- Apparently thorough adherence to email standards.
>> 	- Until you get the hang of the config options, “Profiles” let 
>> you get a head-start on setting things to look as you want, such as 
>> making it look remarkably like the Apple app if you’re initially 
>> more comfortable with its visual metaphor.
>> 	- Vendor is highly responsive and helpful.
>> 	- “Freemium” model—you get nearly all the features (and 
>> definitely all the **important** ones) for free, but can choose to 
>> pay a yearly subscription if you want to receive a few more (minor) 
>> features and, more to the point, support the vendor’s continuing 
>> efforts.
>>
>> - Cons
>> 	- Due to vendor’s admittedly well-argued opinions about 
>> notifications’ effect on productivity, app doesn’t provide them 
>> in real time. (Its biggest flaw. Suggested methods to resolve this 
>> involved considerable, potentially glitchy config which, for me at 
>> least, didn’t prove successful.)
>> 	- Default per-email swipe behavior, as well as default ordering of 
>> icons intended for quick action on emails, seems oriented less toward 
>> dealing with emails and more toward getting them out of sight.
>> 	- “Snippets” (drop-in variables, essentially) in signatures are 
>> glitchy.
>> 	- User docs, while well-organized and apparently comprehensive, lack 
>> screen captures.
>> 	- Doesn’t use Markdown.
>>
>> Finally: right now, I prefer Preside over AltaMail by a fairly wide 
>> margin *except* for the Preside notifications shortcomings, which 
>> really bug me. The only reliable way around it that I’ve found so 
>> far is to let Apple Mail—or, for now, AltaMail—provide real-time 
>> notifications and then go to Preside to view the emails themselves. 
>> It’s a kludgy, but workable solution; **but**, if your intent is to 
>> quit having Mail running in the background at all (although, 
>> remember, you can’t **really** delete Mail; it only “hides” if 
>> “deleted”), it’s a non-starter.
>>
>> So, any takers? Thanks for whatever info/opinions you may wish to 
>> share.
>>   
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>   
>>
>> Bryce Wray
>> bwray at wraytx.com
>> https://brycewray.com
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>
> Alain
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