There are a few cases where a pre-installed iPhone app made by Apple is the best tool for a particular job, but the Mail app certainly isn’t one of them. For light email users, it’s a nice clean option that offers a fairly basic set of features and a nice user interface. For the rest of us, we need a solution that offers a broader feature set than Apple’s Mail app will likely ever offer.
I’ve personally been back on the hunt for a new email app ever since my email solution of choice was shut down by Dropbox. And no, I still haven’t forgiven the company. I’ve gone through more than a dozen apps in my search for a Mailbox replacement though, and in this post I'll save you the pain and suffering that I’ve had to endure.
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As is the case with to-do list apps and messaging apps, email apps are something just about everyone uses. As a result, developers have flooded the App Store to the point where it’s difficult to make heads or tails of all of the options out there.
I'll save you some time. If you’re an iPhone user, these are the only five email apps you need to bother with:
Inbox by Gmail
Inbox by Gmail is Google’s new take on email, and it was obviously inspired by Mailbox. This app features a gorgeous user interface and a feature set that makes it easier to handle large amounts of email, but it comes with a huge caveat: There’s no unified inbox — ironically, considering the app’s name — so people who manage multiple accounts might want to look elsewhere.
Your email inbox should help you live and work better, but instead it often buries the important stuff and creates more stress than it relieves. Inbox, built by the Gmail team, keeps things organized and helps you get back to what matters.
• HIGHLIGHTS – Get the most important information without even opening the message. Check-in for flights, see shipping information for purchases, and view photos from friends right up front.
• BUNDLES – Similar messages are bundled together so you can deal with them all at once. And get rid of them with one swipe.
• REMINDERS – More than mail, you can add Reminders so your inbox contains all the things you need to get back to.
• SNOOZE – Snooze emails and Reminders to come back when you are ready to deal with them: next week, when you get home, or whenever you choose.
• SEARCH – Inbox helps you find exactly what you’re looking for— from your upcoming flight to a friend’s address— without having to dig through messages.
• WORKS WITH GMAIL – Inbox is built by the Gmail team, so all your messages from Gmail are here, along with the reliability and spam protection of Gmail. All of your messages are still in Gmail and always will be.
Download Inbox by Gmail for free
Airmail
I use Airmail for OS X and I’ve been eagerly anticipating Bloop’s iPhone version. Now that it’s here, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s a fantastic and robust client with just about every feature you can possibly imagine. On the other hand, it has some serious sync issues for me, to the point where it’s unusable.
Luckily, not everyone has had these issues so this is definitely a client worth checking out. As for me, I'll be waiting patiently for some updates.
Airmail is a powerful mail client for Mac, now available for iPhone.
Designed for the latest generation iPhone and iOS9, it supports 3D Touch, fast document previewing, high quality pdf creation, and native integration with other apps and services for a frictionless workflow.
Workflow customization at the core with a rich features set like snooze, interactive push notification, and full inbox sync.
iCloud sync provide a full ubiquitous sync experience so that all your mailbox preferences, and app preferences are synced.
BASIC
– Accounts support: GMAIL, EXCHANGE, IMAP and, POP3
– Push Notifications, with VIP and Custom actions.
– Push Notifications, full body preview and custom sound.
– Badge, Unread, Messages, and New
– Apple Watch app with glance and interactive notifications
– Customizable Swipes
– Thread and single message support
– Snooze Messages
– Bulk Editing
– iCloud Sync Mac/iOS
– Drafts
– Aliases
– Multiple signatures
– Unified Inbox
– Horizontal layout
– 19 LanguagesADVANCED
– 3D Touch quick access
– 3D Touch Peek and Pop
– iOS 9 Search API for Documents and Messages
– Share Composer Extension
– iCloud Sync Label color Mac/iOS
– iCloud Account settings sync Mac/iOS
– iCloud Preference sync Mac/iOS
– iCloud VIP sync
– Handoff Mac/iOSSEARCH AND FILTERS
– Online Search
– Filter by Unread, Starred, Conversation, Today and Smart
– Bull icon to quick access to the message of one sender
– Quick per account single folder accessLABELS-FOLDERS
– Full label access
– Per single labels sync
– Quick access to recent labels
– Favorite labels
– Full Label creation and editing
– Document view with rich preview
– Unread, Today, Conversations, ContactsCOMPOSER
– HTML rich composer
– Attachments resize
– Document Provider support in composer “Dropbox, Google Drive and much more”.
– Signature swipes
– Composer Extension
– Online Drafts
– Send and ArchiveOPERATIONS
– Undo actions
– Transfer on different accounts
– Multiple signature
– Operation view
– Attachment view
– Contacts view
– Mark as unread on openCONTACTS
– VIP
– Google Directory Search
– Exchange Global Address List
– Contacts Group messages
– Auto CC/BCCVISUAL
– Profile icons
– Highlight Subject
– Account Icons
– Account Colors
– Preview message lines
– Remote ImagesACTIONS
– Archive
– Trash
– Snooze defer messages
– Move and Labels
– Mark as Unread
– Mark as Starred
– Mark as Spam
– To Do, Memo, Done
– Send to Calendar
– Send to iOS Extension
– Create a Searchable PDF
– Bounce
– Redirect
– Transfer to a different account
– Universal link Mac/iOS
– Add to sender to VIP
– Empty Trash and Spam
– Mark full mailbox as read
– Archive all messagesINTEGRATIONS
Attachments:
– Google Drive
– Dropler
– Box.com
– OneDrive
– DropboxOpen Links in:
– Safari
– Chrome
– Firefox
– iCab
– Mercury
– Safari view controllerSend to Apps and Service:
– Calendars Invites
– Apple Calendar
– Apple Reminder
– Omnifocus
– Todoist
– Wunderlist
– Fantastical 2
– 2DO
– Trello
– Clear
– Evernote
– Appigo Todo
– The Hit List
– Things
– Task
– Editorial
– Draft 4
– iA Writer
– Code Hub
– Things
– 1Writer
– Delivery
– Github
– Swipes
