Exploring the new Apple Mail features in iOS 18.2

Apple Mail just got its biggest update ever in iOS 18.2, and iPhone users have a lot to be excited about. From new ways to organize your inbox to visual cues that help you avoid scams, this update redefines how you interact with your messages. Let’s dive into the new features, how they work, and how you can customize them to suit your needs.

Messages now categorized

Apple has an explanation of categories at the ready in the menu icon.

The most obvious change in iOS 18.2 is the introduction of categories in Apple Mail. Your inbox can now automatically organize emails into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. If you use Gmail, this may feel familiar. For details on what these categories include, tap the 3 dot icon in the upper right corner of your Inbox and then About Categories. While this can help declutter your inbox, it’s not for everyone. Here’s how to use and manage this feature:

• Moving messages between categories: If a message lands in the wrong category, you can manually move it. Swipe left on the message gently, tap More, and choose Categorize Sender. You can also tap the arrow icon while viewing the message and select Categorize Sender from there.
• Switching to the "All Mail" tab: If you’d rather see everything in one place temporarily, swipe the tabs at the top of your inbox to the left. This merges all categories into a single list, so you don’t miss anything.

To see all mail temporarily, swipe your tabs to the left.

• Turning categories off: Prefer the traditional, single-inbox style? You can disable categories by tapping the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner and choosing List View. If you have multiple email accounts, you’ll need to do this for each inbox.

Turn off categorization entirely in this menu.

One thing to note: even if a message gets categorized, it can still appear in Primary if your iPhone deems it important. A small color icon on the right indicates this. To clear it out of Primary, swipe the message to the left. Unfortunately, this behavior isn’t adjustable.

New email icons

Another standout feature is the introduction of expanded icons next to emails, offering visual cues about the sender and their authenticity. Here’s what the different icons mean:

• Circular icons: These are either auto-generated monograms or ones you’ve manually set for your contacts. They help you quickly identify emails from people you know.
• Square icons: These are set by Apple and indicate the type of sender, such as an airline or shopping site.
• Logos in square icons: Emails with a logo in a square icon have passed Apple’s validation process. This means the email is nearly guaranteed to be authentic, helping you avoid phishing scams and fraudulent messages. Apple only recently started allowing businesses to sign up for this feature, and so far it’s visible for only a few senders like Amazon, Kayak, USPS and Best Buy. If you have a business with your own domain, you can set up your logo.

Seeing the Best Buy logo in a square means that this is almost certainly a legitimate email. If you normally see the logo for a company but it's missing on one email, you should be suspicious of it.

New badge numbers

The badge on the Mail app icon that shows the number of unread emails has been updated. Now, it only reflects the messages in your Primary category. If you prefer to revert to seeing the count of all unread messages, go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Notifications > Customize Notifications and adjust the setting.

Also added in macOS 15.4 and iPadOS 18.4

This feature was later added to Apple Mail for Mac and iPad in macOS 15.4 and iPadOS 18.4. Everything I mention above also applies there—you can easily turn off the categories by tapping the 3 dots.

Changes coming to macOS 15.5, iOS 18.5

Apple is adding a small tweak to macOS 15.5, iOS 18.5, and iPadOS 18.5 which should be out in May. In addition to being able to disable the categories in the (...) icon at the top of the mail list, there will also be an option to disable the sender icons as well, allowing you to more quickly find that feature.

Final thoughts

iOS 18.2’s Apple Mail update is a game-changer for iPhone users, offering smarter organization and more secure email interactions. Whether you love the new features or prefer to stick to the classic inbox style, there’s plenty of flexibility to make Apple Mail work for you. Give these features a try and see how they fit into your daily workflow!

(featured image by ChatGPT)