Useful tips for the Mail app on iPhone and iPad
There are many useful e-mail apps for iPhone and iPad, but Apple’s standard Mail app will also get you a long way. You don’t really need an alternative for a little e-mail. To get the most out of the Mail app, here are a few tips, with handy tricks to delete emails faster, keep an overview and more. These are fourteen useful tips for the Mail app for your iPhone and iPad.
- Swipe for quick actions
- Unread inbox
- Search faster
- Edit multiple emails
- Multiple windows on iPad
- Mail window in the middle
- Super fast erase
- Filter by choice
- Adjust highlight color
- VIP notifications
- Unsubscribe
- Keep quiet
- Hide email address
- widget
#1 Swipe for quick actions (also in the email)
You may know that you can swipe left and right from the mail overview in the Mail app to quickly delete an email, flag it, and more. But did you know that this also works when you’re in an email? Swipe to the left and you will see the same options on the right as in the mail overview. By default, they are delete, mark, and reply. Swipe the email to the right and you can quickly mark it as (un)read. When adjusting the swipe options in the Mail app, adjust it here as well.
#2 Unread inbox
If you want to quickly view all unread emails, you can do so by setting up a separate Unread inbox. This inbox applies to all accounts you’ve added to the Mail app. The advantage of such an unread inbox is that you can immediately see which new e-mails are waiting for you without too much hassle. In addition to the Unread inbox, you can also set up a Today inbox, which collects all emails from just the current day. You set this up by tapping Edit in the Mail app in the mailboxes overview. Then check the desired mailboxes.
#3 Search faster
There are many ways to quickly find the right email. You can search with Spotlight, with Siri, with filters and with all kinds of smart commands. For example, enter a date in the general search field of the Mail app, so that you only see the emails of that date. You can also combine this with the name of a sender. So they are a kind of search filters. In just a few steps you will find exactly the e-mail you are looking for.
#4 Edit multiple emails
You may know it: you want to reply to an e-mail, but you also want to browse your inbox while composing your message to view another e-mail. You can, because you can edit multiple emails at the same time. While composing, swipe down on the new email and you’ll have full access to your entire inbox again. You can even compose a second email this way and swipe it down again. Then tap the stack of email drafts at the bottom and they’ll appear together in an overview, just like the old tabs in Safari. To delete the drafts, tap the cross in the top left or swipe them to the left.
#5 Multiple windows on iPad
In addition, iPad users benefit from an additional option. You can use multiple windows of the same app on the iPad, for example in Split View. For example, you put two e-mails directly next to each other. The default Mail app also works with this. You do this by opening the Mail app and then bringing the Dock into view and tapping the Mail icon. With the large plus button you can open a new window and at the bottom you see an overview of your open windows.
#6 Open an email in the middle of iPad screen
Since iPadOS 15, you also have the function called Center Window on the iPad. This allows you to (temporarily) open a part of an app in a separate window in the middle of the screen. You do not open a second window, but only a smaller window within the current one. The advantage is that your e-mail is always completely in the middle of the screen, so that you can read it more easily. From here you can also switch to Split View, for example.
#7 Super fast wipe by swiping
There is a trick hidden in the Mail app that allows you to quickly select emails and, for example, delete them immediately afterwards. You do this by going to your email overview and swiping down on the emails with two fingers. You then immediately enter the select mode and can select all emails on your screen in one swipe.
#8 Filter by choice
At the bottom left of the overview of your emails in the Mail app you will see a button to filter. By default, this allows you to switch between all emails or just the unread messages. But if you tap on the blue word Unread at the bottom of the overview, you will see many more options. In addition to unread, you can also check Marked and there are switches for emails with attachments or only from VIP contacts.
#9 Customize highlight color
You can mark emails so that you can find them more easily. But not all flagged emails belong together. Fortunately, something has been found, because you can set different colors for the marking option. You do this by opening an email, tapping the arrow at the bottom and choosing Mark. There you can then choose from seven different colors. For example, choose red for work and blue for private, so that you can immediately see which color the email belongs to.
#10 VIP notifications
If all those notifications of new (uninteresting) emails drive you crazy, you can choose to be notified only from VIP contacts. To add a contact as a VIP, tap their name in the email received and tap Add to VIP. Then go to the settings for notifications via Settings > Notifications > Mail and choose which notifications you want to receive. For example, turn off notifications for your general mailbox, but activate them separately for your VIP contacts.
#11 Unsubscribe from newsletters
Unsubscribing from newsletters can be a difficult job, especially if companies have hidden the unsubscribe button in a secret place. In many cases, the Mail app can also handle this for you. It automatically recognizes newsletters and at the top you will automatically see that the message comes from a mailing list. Tap the notification to unsubscribe. It doesn’t work for all services, but in many cases you can easily unsubscribe.
#12 Keep conversations quiet
When you’re in a big email conversation, it can be annoying if you get a notification for every new email in the conversation. With a few taps, you can silence conversations in the Mail app. You do this by pressing and holding an email and tapping Hold still in the menu at the bottom. If you still want notifications again, tap Sound on.
#13 Hide your email address
If you’re an iCloud+ subscriber, you can use the Hide My Email Address feature. This allows you to create a random e-mail address, for example for an online account that you do not fully trust. If there is a data breach, you know that your real email address has not been intercepted. But you can also compose a new email from the Mail app and send it from any email address. All you have to do is tap the From button when composing a new email and choose Hide my email address. Once you have entered a recipient, you will see here what e-mail address has been created.
#14 View the most important mails with the widget
The Mail app also has a widget. There are two sizes: a narrow wide and a large wide. In this widget you will see the latest emails from your VIP contacts, so only the emails that really matter. So you can easily check whether there are new emails without having to open the Mail app. You will also see the subject and the first line of the email.
