Apple Mail is an honest different to Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Spark, and all the opposite e-mail shoppers accessible for the Mac. However despite the fact that Apple has been delivering its in-house mail shopper for years and usually updates it, it doesn’t come with out criticisms–it could possibly be a significantly better e-mail shopper if it weren’t for these annoyances.
Half-hearted AI implementation
Since macOS 15.4 and iOS 18.4, Apple Intelligence has been an integral a part of the working system and likewise of Apple Mail, however Apple Intelligence can nonetheless solely “tinker” with e-mail texts–summaries, sensible replies, writing instruments, and a bit extra. There’s huge potential for AI options, particularly in e-mail administration and spam detection. As a substitute of counting on actual synthetic intelligence, Apple Mail continues to depend on so-called “clever” folders for group and spam detection. That isn’t sufficient.
Catastrophic spam detection
As a result of Apple doesn’t presently depend on AI for this and has apparently not made any enhancements to the algorithms for “clever” spam detection for years, Apple Mail’s filter perform is disastrous. It virtually doesn’t work in any respect on the iPhone and iPad, and on the Mac, the outcomes are hit or miss.
Lengthy-time Apple Mail customers know the issue: the identical annoying spam messages which were moved to the spam folder numerous occasions find yourself within the inbox repeatedly. On the similar time, necessary emails disappear into the spam folder for utterly obscure causes. That is significantly annoying in terms of actually necessary messages, like payments which might be due.
Sensible mailboxes are usually not sensible
Anybody utilizing Apple Mail with clever mailboxes for e-mail administration rapidly realizes that the “intelligence” relies on mere filters. Customers need to manually record standards corresponding to “sender – incorporates – @nerviger-newsletter.de” with the intention to type emails particularly. This was an excellent innovation in 2005 when Apple Mail 2.0 got here out and launched this characteristic. 20 years later and in gentle of the AI revolution, it seems previous: Even in OS 26, the “intelligence” is proscribed to creating lengthy if-then lists within the Apple Mail interface.
In the event you like lengthy, complicated lists, you should use the Sensible Mailbox perform in Apple Mail.
Foundry
An more and more complicated app
Apple Mail initially goes again to Nextmail, the mail shopper of Steve Jobs’ NextStep working system, which fashioned the premise for at this time’s Apple working methods. Sadly, Apple hasn’t dared to undertake a basic redesign of the UI since then however it continues to tack on new features. The outcome: Apple Mail is extraordinarily complicated, significantly on the Mac, particularly when a number of mail accounts and sensible and native folders come into play.
To enhance the overview, Apple has progressively launched options corresponding to mail flags, the VIP folder, and the dialog view. The most recent “masterpiece” was the addition of mail classes, which makes issues much more sophisticated for a lot of customers. Luckily, many of those features will be deactivated in order that a little bit order will be restored.
Even the settings are complicated. Quite a few menus create much more chaos.
Foundry
What can’t be switched off is Apple’s menu mania in Apple Mail for Mac. There’s the settings menu, which has grown right into a complicated mess through the years. The identical applies to the menu bar, which incorporates dozens of tick packing containers and the place a small working error can utterly destroy the looks of Apple Mail. The which means of the person menu gadgets typically requires a sophisticated diploma in software program design.
If that wasn’t unhealthy sufficient, there may be, after all, the context menu, which merely incorporates too many menu gadgets which might be hardly organized logically. There’s not a lot left of Apple’s primary concept of straightforward usability right here.
Mail classes
The Mail app on the Mac is so tousled that even issues which might be alleged to make it higher trigger much more chaos. Since macOS 15/iOS 18, Apple Mail robotically acknowledges whether or not an e-mail is necessary, incorporates a transaction or information, or whether or not it’s promoting (not spam, as a result of the English phrase right here is “promotions”).
Sadly, the tabs cover all different emails. In case you are within the fallacious tab, it’s simple to miss necessary messages. The categorization itself is extra like a lottery than a transparent logic: necessary emails immediately find yourself beneath “Promoting,” transactions seem in every single place however not within the correct tab. It’s virtually not possible to regulate the categorization manually, as emails can solely be assigned to the predefined classes.
Account synchronization limits
Anybody who makes use of a number of e-mail accounts in Apple Mail might be acquainted with the issue when switching to new gadgets. Mail accounts already arrange on a Mac are transferred to a different Mac, however to not an iPhone or iPad. Conversely, accounts stay throughout the iOS system: In the event you add a brand new iPad to your iPhone, one can find the accounts there, however not on a Mac.
That is significantly annoying as a result of mail accounts typically need to be painstakingly arrange once more, despite the fact that Apple truly gives the expertise to robotically synchronize accounts on all gadgets with iCloud and the keychain.
Account login hiccups
Immediately, Apple Mail needs the password for an account, or the account can’t be acknowledged in any respect throughout setup. That is normally attributable to an issue with the mail server, however Apple Mail tends to indicate weaknesses, particularly with IMAP accounts from third-party suppliers which might be neither Apple, Google, Microsoft, nor AOL.
There are two causes for this: Firstly, the setup interface is relatively complicated, and secondly, Apple Mail typically appears merely unreliable in terms of configuration. Some accounts can’t be added on particular person gadgets, however then immediately will be added to others. What’s irritating is that customers have little affect over this.
Lacking attachments that may’t load
“Right here’s an necessary file!” The issue is that Apple Mail shows the attachment, however it can’t be opened or downloaded. The one answer is to ask the sender of the message to ship the recordsdata once more individually. Conversely, Apple Mail may play this recreation and ship attachments in such a manner that the recipient doesn’t obtain them appropriately, or some recordsdata are lacking. This has been an issue for years. However whether or not and the way it happens appears to depend upon the mix of mail software program utilized by the sender and recipient. In any case, Apple Mail performs its personal function right here.
Improve crash recreation
With each new macOS or iOS model, the Mail app additionally receives a brand new model quantity, and this typically causes instability and crashes. Significantly dreaded is the message “Updating the Mail database” on the primary begin after an improve. After that, issues are likely to happen: misplaced emails or attachments, forgotten passwords, and even extreme crashes. Apple Mail is especially delicate right here, so the one actual answer is normally to attend for the primary bugfix launch of the brand new working system model.
This text initially appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and localized from German.
