With iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, Apple has made a number of improvements to the Mail app to bring it in line with competing email apps. The Mail app includes updates to search, an option to cancel sending, tools to remind you of emails you still need to deal with, and more.
Let's start with the improved search. The search in the Mail app has been improved and you will now see a wider selection of suggestions when you enter a search term. More relevant emails will be displayed. Apple says that the search corrects typos and uses synonyms for search terms. It is not much different from the search function in iOS 15. But it makes searching faster, more accurate and more intuitive to use. The improved search is only available in English, however. An extension to German and more will be added at a later date.
Cancel the sending process
After you send an email in iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, you have 10 seconds to undo or cancel the send if you find a mistake. While 10 seconds is less than the amount of time other mail apps like Gmail give you to undo an email (30 seconds), it's better than no option at all. When you send an email in iOS 16, you'll see an Undo Send button at the bottom of the Mail app. So you'll need to tap it within 10 seconds to "re-send" the email so you can go back to composing the email. From there, you can correct your mistake and resend the email or delete it entirely.
Scheduled Sending
When you're ready to send an email you've written, you can schedule a time to send it—a new feature in iOS 16. To do so, long-press the Send icon (the blue arrow), then select an option. Apple offers preset options like Send Now, Send Tonight at 9:00 PM, and Send Tomorrow at 8:00 AM. If those preset times don't suit you, you can tap Send Later and select any date and/or time. Before it's sent, the email will be listed in a Send Later inbox, found under options like Starred and Unread. You can tap that inbox to see what messages you've scheduled and what time they're scheduled for.
email reminders
If you've opened an email and don't have time to reply, you can have the Mail app remind you to read and respond later. Apple lets you choose a date and time for messages to reappear in your inbox so you don't miss anything. To use the reminder feature, tap the Reply button on any email in your inbox. Then scroll down to Remind Me and tap it. Apple gives you preset options of "in an hour," "tonight," and "tomorrow." You can also choose the "Remind Me Later..." option, which lets you set a custom date and time to be reminded to reply. When the reminder time comes, the Mail app moves the email to the top of your inbox and labels it with a "Remind Me" tag so you can respond.
follow-up
Apple introduced the Follow Up feature, which moves sent emails to the top of your inbox so you can follow up if you don't get a response from the person you sent the email to. For certain emails in your inbox where you've indicated you're waiting for a response, you'll see a Follow Up option. Clicking it will take you to compose an email to the person you're waiting for a response to.
Notifications for missing recipients and attachments
If you mention an attachment or a person you want to mention in an email in the body of the message and then forget to add that information, the Mail app will notify you. This feature puts the Mail app in line with competing email services like Gmail by letting you know when you forget an attachment or a person you wanted to add to an email.
Rich Links
Links to web pages, songs in Apple Music, and more will appear as rich links rather than plain text in iOS 16. This means that when someone sends you a link in the Mail app, you can see a preview of the content right in the message without having to click the link.
Focus Filter for Mail
Apple has added a new focus option called Filter in iOS 16. Filters allow you to filter out content within apps and display a specific mail account or calendar if you have more than one. If you use a focus with a filter set, the app with the filter will only show what you have selected and hide everything else. For the Mail app, you can select any mail account to link to a focus. If you have set a filter, the Mail app will only show the accounts you have selected when you are in that focus. This is useful, for example, if you want to hide private emails while you are working and vice versa. Whether your device is compatible with the new software is compatible, you can find out here. (Photo by Unsplash / Vista Wei)
