iOS 18.2 marks a significant update for users. Among its standout features are the new Apple Intelligence tools, along with a major redesign of the Mail app. Here’s a detailed look at what’s new.
Mail app now resembles Messages more closely
Upon launching Apple’s Mail app in iOS 18.2, you’ll quickly notice the redesigned interface. While the mailboxes screen remains familiar, the changes become clear once you open an inbox.
Visually, Apple now highlights sender contact photos in your inbox. Instead of a wall of text, emails now feature color and images, making them resemble threads in the Messages app, with a contact photo displayed to the left.
This shift aligns with Apple’s new Branded Mail capabilities for businesses, allowing companies to upload their logos as contact photos both in Mail and within the Phone app, as well as in the Apple Pay interface during contactless payments. If a business hasn’t uploaded a logo, icons from Apple Maps will appear instead.
Inboxes overhauled with categories
More impactful than merely adding contact photos, iOS 18.2 introduces a new framework for inbox management.
Apple’s Mail app now categorizes your inbox into four distinct sections. Here’s what each category entails:
- Primary: Access the most important messages, with options to sort the rest.
- Transactions: Track your orders, including shipping notifications, organized by sender.
- Updates: Stay informed with newsletters and alert notifications in one place.
- Promotions: Discover offers from familiar businesses and organizations.
New emails are automatically sorted as they arrive, and each category features two subsections: ‘New Messages’ and ‘Older Messages.’
Moreover, users can adjust their Mail notification badge to show only new messages in the Primary category or retain the previous setting of all messages included.
Adjusting Mail’s categorization features
If the categorization system misplaces certain emails, you have the ability to adjust the settings so they remain in the desired category in the future. You can set it up to automatically direct emails from specific senders to your chosen category, rather than relying on Apple’s system.
For those who prefer the traditional layout, there are two options to revert to a unified inbox.
- The Mail app initially displays the four specified categories, but an ‘All Mail’ view still exists. You can access this view by swiping left regardless of the category you’re viewing.
- To completely disable the categories, tap the three dots in the upper right corner and switch from Categories to List View. This restores your inbox to its pre-iOS 18.2 form.
New Digest view for consolidating messages
One more noticeable update is how the inbox operates.
While the ‘All Mail’ view provides a complete list of every message, the four new category sections aim to enhance how your inbox is organized.
They streamline the experience by aggregating messages from the same sender and introducing a ‘Digest view,’ as illustrated above. However, as with many new features in iOS 18.2, you have the option to switch off this functionality if you prefer.
Summary of iOS 18.2 Mail app updates
The Mail app is one of the most widely used applications on iPhone, yet historically has received minimal updates from Apple. The redesign in iOS 18.2 changes that narrative.
My experience using the revamped Mail app in the iOS 18.2 beta has been very positive, and I appreciate that Apple has provided options to revert back some changes if they do not suit your style. Now that the Mail app has been upgraded on iPhone, I am eager to see similar improvements on iPad and Mac systems.
What are your thoughts on the redesigned Mail app? Share your feedback in the comments.
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