Show HN: Define.app – email app for the next generation

Posted by johnthemaker on Friday March 06, 2026 @09:30AM
from the show-hn dept.

As a developer, I always wanted to explore/design a new email experience. Email is one of those tool we check daily but its underlying experience didn’t evolve much. I use Gmail, as probably most of you reading this.

Arc brought taste to browsing the web. Cursor created a new UX with agents ready to work for you in a handy right panel.

So, I tried to bring them all together [0].

I’d genuinely love to hear what you think, especially if you use email for work!

(Note: this is a frontend demo with mock data)

[0] https://demo.define.app

( 3 comments | 3 points | on HN )

Re:Show HN: Define.app – email app for the next generation by noemit on Friday March 06, 2026 @10:03AM (#47275727)

First impression: a lot going on. I don't know where to look. The gray on gray on gray makes my eyes hurt. Maybe I'm just old. I'm 36 - is that old? I don't like that everything is like chats. I have 20 tabs open already. Anxiety. I remember Google Reader for some reason. Remember how great that was? I rarely email back and forth with people. But I check my email a lot - for updates, staying on top of stuff. I click a lot of emails. If every email I clicked opened up a new tab I'd want to die. I google Google Reader. I see what the UI looked like. I'm starting to remember. My first impression is done.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Define.app – email app for the next generation by johndamaia on Friday March 06, 2026 @10:07AM (#47275798)

This is great feedback, thank you for taking the time!

> If every email I clicked opened up a new tab I'd want to die. This makes sense. Would it be helpful if I add an option to toggle 'tabs'?

> Maybe I'm just old. I'm 36 - is that old? Hahahah FWIW I'm older than you :D

> The gray on gray on gray makes my eyes hurt. Did you try the theme editor? Brush icon at right bottom of sidebar.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Define.app – email app for the next generation by johndamaia on Friday March 06, 2026 @10:11AM (#47275850)

Founder here. I just realized some folks only want to see a short video of how it works. If you just want to see what it looks like, check this:

https://x.com/define_app/status/2029844632813580487?s=20

[ Parent | on HN ]