Except that

I found a sentence in my English test, which is as follows:

"I would write letters to people, except that it's so much quicker to send emails."

And I am still confused

As per dictionary

"except that" means "used to give a https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/reason why something is not https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/possible or https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/true "

But because I haven't used "except that" previously, I am still not able to understand its meaning as per the context. Please tell me! What is the meaning of this sentence?

(1) Even though sending emails is quicker the speaker will still prefer writing letters.

or

(2) The speaker will prefer sending emails over writing letters to people because its faster to type and send emails.