iOS 18 updates: Apple Mail gets smarter

Mail app will use on-device computing to categorise emails under primary, transactions, updates and promotions
A representational image of iOS 18. — Apple
A representational image of iOS 18. — Apple

Apple’s latest iOS 18 update aims to transform your email experience with a revamped Mail app that was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2024 (WWDC). The new Apple Mail design and features are set to simplify your inbox management.

Although some features are still in beta, here's what you can expect.

Categorisation made easy

The Mail app would use on-device computing to categorise emails under primary, transactions, updates and promotions. This feature enables you to focus on the most important messages while keeping others organised.

For instance, receipts and order confirmations fall under transactions, while newsletters and social media updates fall under updates.

Digest View

With Digest View, users would be able to group all their emails by the sender so they can easily pull out important information they may need from previous discussions. 

This feature would then work inside Mail categories and you'll be able to easily move senders to another category if needed.

Tighter email organisation

You would find unread emails displayed and floated on the top of categories, so you'll know which messages are important. The Mail app would also give you a quick summary of each email in a list view to save time.

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Smart Reply and Writing Tools

With Smart Reply based on Apple Intelligence, it can reply to your emails based on key points. The Writing Tools would help you craft the perfect email, with suggestions to make your writing friendlier, more professional, or more concise.

Summary of your emails

Apple Intelligence would also summarize your email messages for you so you know what they contain without needing to open each email.

Availability and expectations

Some features, such as Smart Reply and the Writing Tools, are already in iOS 18.1 beta, but others would be turned on later this year, likely with iOS 18.2. Now, and for the foreseeable future, AI-driven enhancements from Apple for Mail would continue.