Hello!
First off, massive apologies for the radio silence. I’ve noticed the tumbleweeds – it’s been a bit too quiet. Rest assured, development is still in full swing, and I want to shed some light on what’s happening.
In my last update, I mentioned some challenges in developing the iPad version of Big Mail. Much of this work, such as keyboard shortcuts, navigation, and windowing, also had implications for the Mac. This meant keeping both these versions in tandem. SwiftUI has proven to be a powerful tool for sharing much of this code, but each platform still requires significant additional work to get things working and behaving correctly. Since Big Mail is an app I hope to develop for many years, I wanted to invest the extra time to get these foundations right.
So, why am I prioritizing the Mac and iPad now? The plan was always to release the iPhone version first. However, it became apparent during the betas from your feedback that an iPhone app without a desktop counterpart prevented you from going all-in on Big Mail. I totally agree. Hindsight is 20/20, and I probably wouldn’t have announced Big Mail until these versions were further along.
Bringing the iPad and Mac release forward has meant accelerating and condensing several months of development, which, unfortunately, has come at the expense of the iPhone version. I know this has disappointed those on the beta after previously seeing such rapid updates.
I want to lay out a revised schedule that factors in all these changes:
1. Mac and iPad betas will go out to existing invitees at the beginning of January.
2. A wider public beta for Big Mail for iPhone at the end of January.
3. Big Mail for iPhone will soft launch on the App Store in mid-Q1.
4. The Mac and iPad versions will launch on the App Store by the end of Q1.
Delays are never great, but shipping something incomplete or buggy is worse. This schedule now feels realistic and manageable. I’m grateful to be given another shot at launching Big Mail, and I want to get this release right.
Thank you for following along and for your continued enthusiasm and patience.
Happy to answer any questions you may have!
Phill