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Tag: CloudMagic

  • Newton Lives On As New Owners Take Over From Essential

    Newton Lives On As New Owners Take Over From Essential

    Popular email app Newton Mail has received another lease on life, thanks to new owners who are taking over for Andy Rubin’s failed startup Essential.

    Newton has had a tumultuous history in the email market, initially being released as CloudMagic in 2013 and rebranded as Newton Mail in 2016. The app, available for iOS, macOS, Windows, Android and Chrome OS, won rave reviews across the board. In spite of its success, the original developer announced the app would be shut down in September 2018.

    The app was ultimately acquired by Andy Rubin’s (of Google Android fame) Essential and subsequently resurrected, only to face the chopping block again as a result of Essential shutting down. In the original announcement, Newton Mail was scheduled to stop working after April 30, 2020.

    In a blog post, developer Maitrik Kataria outlines how he and business partner Justin Mitchell were able to work out terms with Essential to take over ownership of the app and continue developing it. The two were motivated by a deep love for the app and its innovative approach to email.

    Just as significant, the pair are acutely aware of Newton’s troubled past, and are determined to bring some much needed stability to the app’s future. In outlining their goals moving forward, the first step in their model involves creating a contingency plan, complete with open-sourcing the app, to ensure Newton never again faces extinction—regardless of what happens to the individuals or company currently tasked with its development.

    Kataria and Mitchell are also committed to improving privacy and security, bringing Newton into compliance with the EU’s GDPR, as well as adding features like PGP integration. The company is also offering a number of promotions to existing users, as well as those who had previously cancelled their subscriptions.

    The announcement is good news for Newton users, as well as the email market in general. For email to grow and evolve, it’s important for third-party developers to continue to push the envelope, rather than relying solely on Apple, Microsoft or Google’s built-in clients.

  • Andy Rubin’s Startup Essential Shutting Down

    Andy Rubin’s Startup Essential Shutting Down

    Essential, the startup Andy Rubin founded upon leaving Google, has announced it is shutting down.

    Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android, started Essential in 2015 with the goal of creating a new line of phones, as well as smart speakers. Unfortunately for the company, the Essential Phone (PH-1) didn’t received the greatest reviews and failed to carve out a substantial market.

    Similarly, the company announced Essential Home, a smart speaker to compete with the likes of the Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod and Google Home. Ultimately, the company halted development on the speaker in an effort to focus on its phone lineup. The company also acquired CloudMagic, maker of the popular Newton email client. Essential finally announced a new phone initiative, Project GEM, that would have relied heavily on voice control and artificial intelligence.

    In the announcement outlining the shutdown, the company says: “Despite our best efforts, we’ve now taken Gem as far as we can and regrettably have no clear path to deliver it to customers. Given this, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations and shutdown Essential.”

    The company goes on to say the PH-1 security update that was released on February 3 will be the last, and Newton Mail will stop functioning after April 30, 2020. Although the company does not go into further detail about what led to the shutdown, it seems the company’s focus was somewhat scattered for a startup trying to break into a crowded market. In addition, given the sexual misconduct allegations against Andy Rubin, the company may have had difficulty securing additional funding and support.

    Either way, it’s a sad end to a phone that had some promising potential and an email client that was beloved by many.