Former Apple Engineer Introduces Native Gmail Client for Mac With Multi-Account Support, System Notifications, and More

Neil Jhaveri, a former Apple engineer who worked on the company's default Mail app, has introduced a new Gmail client for macOS.

Available in beta, Mimestream is a native app written in Swift and designed with AppKit and SwiftUI for a clean, stock appearance. Jhaveri says the app is designed to be fast, lightweight, and use a minimal amount of disk space.

mimestream
Mimestream uses the Gmail API rather than IMAP to support more Gmail-specific features, such as categorized inboxes, automatically synced aliases and signatures, full labels integration, and search operators. Jhaveri plans to add more features over time, including Google Drive support, server-side filter configuration, and G Suite directory autocomplete.

Mimestream's advantages over using the Gmail web interface include support for multiple Gmail accounts with a unified inbox, system-level notifications, system-level Dark Mode support, swipe gestures, tracking prevention, and more.

Jhaveri says Mimestream only makes direct connections to Gmail and does not use intermediary servers, adding that the app does not collect or sell users' emails.

Mimestream is free for a limited time while in beta and will eventually be a paid app distributed through the Mac App Store. macOS Catalina or later is required. Jhaveri says an iOS and iPadOS version of the app is planned for the future.

Tag: Gmail

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: Out Now!]

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Get iOS 26 Features With New Firmware Update

Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware. With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 15, 2025 5:45 am PDT by
Following three months of beta testing, iOS 26 was released today, September 15. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, and it is available to install via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features included in iOS 26. Even more new features and changes are outlined in Apple's release notes for the update. Some of ...
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4: Here Are 5 New Features to Expect on Your iPhone

Tuesday September 16, 2025 11:17 am PDT by
iOS 26 was finally released on Monday, but the software train never stops, and the first developer beta of iOS 26.1 will likely be released soon. iOS 18.1 was an anomaly, as the first developer beta of that version was released in late July last year, to allow for early testing of Apple Intelligence features. The first betas of iOS 15.1, iOS 16.1, and iOS 17.1 were all released in the second ...

Top Rated Comments

casperes1996 Avatar
66 months ago
Looks a lot like the native mail client. Which brings up the point, why not just use the Mail app? It supports more than just Gmail, so you can gather all your email providers in one place; iCloud, Exchange, Gmail, Yahoo, custom email servers - The article said something about using the Gmail API and getting extra Gmail features from that, but I can’t imagine anything on offer there that is really useful; Categoriesed inboxes - well, I already have Smart inboxes and the ability to create my own archiving systems with the native mail client. - Maybe it’s just because I’m not really much into Gmail but use many different email systems, including my own server and like the simplicity of regular SMTP and IMAP.

But I mean good for this guy - I’m sure it’s high quality, well produced software
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smithrh Avatar
66 months ago

Are ex-Apple engineers allowed to produce an application similar in nature to the one they originally worked on? Just curious.
Depends on the legal agreements - if any - they signed on the way in or on the way out. And whether any agreements are still in force, or have expired.

If he's in California, there are additional worker protections in play as well - non-competes are out.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RichardGroves Avatar
66 months ago
Five minutes in and I can already see it is much better with labels, and emails with multiple labels, than native Mail app ever has been. This for me is the key Gmail differentiator - being able to have the same email in multiple places - so a receipts can be in Orders & Work Expenses & Inbox & Starred until I'm done with it, unstar it and archive it: then it is just left with the first two labels.

Mimestream is showing me the labels attached to a message very nicely so far.

We'll see how it goes, but the app is super lightweight (5.1 MB DMG!), was easy to setup with 5 accounts and so far so good.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NoSoup4U Avatar
66 months ago

Excellent. I hope this is a huge success. google apps on Apple devices are one big dumpster fire.
Google apps are noted for the bad UX on every platform. It's part of their branding.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiVolt Avatar
66 months ago
Looks like Apple Mail, lol...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BWhaler Avatar
66 months ago
Excellent. I hope this is a huge success. google apps on Apple devices are one big dumpster fire.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)