So if flatpak and snap aren't installed on the system and have been removed, they get installed with such metapackages?
Yes, the metapackage will install flatpak, all its dependencies, first. Then install the software.
This links to the post that links it - it links itself.
Oh no...That's a dirty trick!
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It is. Canonical caught a great deal of heat for this when they silently replaced Firefox with Snap (After promising they would not do that).
Snap is Canonical's product.
Flatpak is Gnomes product and here, it seems where Gnome is the Zorin Approved Desktop, now discontinuing any other - so they silently replaced it with Flatpak, instead of Snap.
And there was uproar on this forum over the Snap replacement debacle recently, even. Because it happened with users that had already installed the software as .deb packages only to have them replaced by the alternative format during upgrades.
I don't think that silently replacing it with Flatpak is a valid solution.
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Here's how to install Thunderbird (ESR in my video) from a tarball:
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Flatpak is actually a Flatpak product, adopted by Red Hat under the recommendation of Herr Poettinger, who then [Red Hat] tried to make it the 'de facto' package solution, in much the same way that they forced systemd and pulse audio onto other distributions to accept.
Interesting article here, especially the posts underneath it:
Well ... yes and no. Yes, in the Way that they redirect. But no to replace an APT Package because this APT Package isn't available - which is the whole Problem for this. With Ubuntu 24.04 LTS the APT Package of Thunderbird was repleaced with the Snap Version and when You use apt install, it installs the Snap - like Ubuntu did with Firefox.
For Firefox Zorin offers the Adding of the Mozilla-own Repo as a Workaround. Thunderbird doesn't have that Option (I would think Mozilla should strongly think about to offer Thunderbird through their Repo; could make Things easier).
So, I guess the Zorin Dev's thought to go the Redirect Way, too but offer the official Flatpak what comes from Mozilla. That would be my Guess as I wrote. It would be good when there would be some kind of official Note from the Dev's - in the Blog or at least here in the Forum to have Facts.
But what I still find Bizarre is that in Syaptic, the package is Flatpak, but the locale is Snap! Go figure!
The best way is to use the tarball for which I have created the video tutorial. Problem solved.
Agreed. I see even Mozilla are now only mentioning Flatpak and Snap installs for Linux 
But in the meantime you can use the mozillateam ppa. Whilst that is not actually Mozilla, it gives you an actual deb/apt version, not one of those unwanted gift-wrapped versions.
That might be a reason to give Evolution another chance.
Whats the differences really and who knows whats the reason that it is the default Email app in Zorin?
I just tried it briefly and didnt like it much, but it could be mainly because of being used to Thunderbird...
Or should I open an own thread for this?
Hi guys, I am a little bit concerned. Zorin OS frequently deletes the .deb version by itself and I have to reinstall it again. All data is still there. But it is a little bit annoying. Before Zorin OS 18 I had the feeling that I could control if I install a .deb, Flatpak or Snap version. Zorin OS was always the .deb and the other version could intentionally be selected from the software store. Now the Zorin package can be anything and does not even stay consistent. When I upgraded with the beta upgraded it was the Snap version. The official upgrader uses the Flatpack version. Why can't you simply offer all three options in the store and let people decide which version to install?
I think the reason for the change is because Zorin has always wanted to break into the business sector. For starters it resembles closely the 'traditional' desktop version of Outlook, and I had no issues setting up my Outlook365 work email during lockdown. It also meant that my PC speaker would bleep to let me know I had new mail. Prior to that I had to invest in a second monitor, simply to have Outlook365 showing on the right monitor as the VM of Windows I was running it on had no sound notification.
The Question here would be how new this is. Because there wasn't an Announcement from Zorin, we don't know when they made that. So, it could be installed as Snap and now it is available as this transitional Package.
Unfortunately this isn't as simple as that. Zorin is based on Ubuntu and uses the Repo's. And Ubuntu doesn't offer Thunderbird as .deb anymore. It offers it as Snap - even when You want install the APT Package. Then it redirects this and installs the Snap Package.
So, to get the .deb Package, Your Possibilities are limited. To offer a Thunderbird .deb Package, there would be the Option to integrate the mozillateam PPA (don't be irritated by the Name; that doesn't come from Mozilla directly) or change the entire OS Base to Debian. On Debian, You have Thunderbird as .deb Package available.
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I think it is possible to offer the .deb package. Linux Mint is also based on Ubuntu a they still offer it next to the flatpak version. Maybe not easy but possible.
Linux Mint uses the mozillateam PPA as far as I know.
Actually, Zorin OS used to use the mozilla direct PPA. They stopped doing so.
You mean the Mozilla-own Repo? The Names unfortunately a bit irritating, hahaha!
It is...
But yes, they used it and the Firefox .deb install stayed secure throughout.
So, this is not a new feature to be offered - it is a former feature that has been removed.
They removed it because of the Switch to Brave. And they offer to get it back when installing Firefox as .deb Package with their Transition to add the Repo again to install it as .deb.
I personally would think, it would be easier to add the Mozilla-own Repo by default - even when not install Firefox as default. But it is how it is.
I have been strongly considering changing my entire OS base to Debian 13, rather than the Zorin18 upgrade.