iOS 18.2 developer beta is here, and the new Mail app powered by Apple Intelligence is one of the standout updates coming to iPhone.
While it may not be as headline-grabbing as ChatGPT’s integration with Siri, Visual Intelligence, or Genmoji, I think it’s the everyday use of AI that the average consumer appreciates most. I am. I’ve been using the new Mail app in iOS 18.2 developer beta for about 24 hours, and while it’s still in development, I’m feeling optimistic about Apple intelligence.
With new categories, great summarization tools, and a fresh new look, Mail in iOS 18.2 might be the solution to the clutter in my inbox, and it might be in yours, too. yeah.
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Before we begin, we want to emphasize that iOS 18.2 is in its very early stages. This is not software that should be installed on your primary device. To try out the email improvements I’m writing about here, wait for the official release later this year. If you can’t wait to start using Apple Intelligence, you’ll soon be able to install the official release of iOS 18.1. This should give us enough new features until 18.2 eventually arrives.
Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about email. There were rumors of an Apple Intelligence Mail feature in iOS 18.1, but other than some basic outlines, there was nothing of note. Moving forward to iOS 18.2, Apple Intelligence becomes very prominent in the Mail app and takes over.
The first thing you notice when you open Mail in iOS 18.2 are categories powered by Apple Intelligence. Mail is your primary source for important emails, from transactional purchase receipts and shipping information to subscription updates, social media emails, newsletters, all transactional emails and promotions of special offers from your website. automatically organize them into multiple categories. Time-sensitive emails also appear in primary, regardless of the category they fall into. This is already a lifesaver considering my email inbox is usually full of newsletters and spam rather than important information. But now you can actually see the messages you want.
This simple but effective change to the Mail app can be found in the new menu bar. After just one day of using this, I wonder how I ever lived without it. I’ve always wanted an AI tool to help me keep my life in order, but having Apple Intelligence filter my emails makes me feel like I’m missing important information because of my cluttered inbox. Gone is the constant fear that something will happen. Until yesterday, I was afraid to open my email app, but now I understand how it works and am happy to check my email. In addition to automatically filtering your emails into categories, Apple Intelligence lets you manually categorize your contacts so you can better understand your priorities. There were some emails showing up in “Transactions” that should have been in “Updates”, but it would have been easy to make sure they were in the desired category next time. The Mail app groups emails within these categories by sender, eliminating confusion once and for all.
Apart from the new look given by categories, summaries also worked well in our short time testing the feature. I used Apple Intelligence to summarize seven emails into threads, and it was impressive how much detail I was able to gather. I’m not sure yet how often I’ll use summaries like this, but it’s impressive to see it in action, and I’m sure many people will like it. However, using summaries is a way for email apps to break down emails into one or two important bullet points. This is very useful if you want to skim through your inbox instead of opening every email to decide if it’s worth it. time.
What iOS 18.2 does best is tidy up. You no longer have to constantly be on the lookout for an endless list of emails. I know apps like Gmail have been doing similar things for a while, but what makes Mail different is my trust in Apple Intelligence to do a good job. More Apple Intelligence features coming in the coming months, and a smarter Siri with personal context and on-screen recognition arriving at the end of the first wave, making this the AI-powered iPhone it is. We hope this is just the beginning. A personal assistant in my pocket.
Email has been plaguing my life for years, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep under control. If Apple Intelligence can help you sort through online clutter and make your daily life easier, then Apple is on to something. Perhaps this is “AI for the rest of us.”
