Email isn’t quite as popular as it used to be, but email apps most certainly are? Why is that? Well, it comes down to how emails are used in modern society.
Most people use their emails for official communications such as work. What that means is that their email inboxes are typically flooded with things they have to “deal” with. Naturally, that can get frustrating rather quickly.
That’s where email apps can help. They simplify the process of sending emails as well as managing your inbox. The right email apps allow you to properly manage your inbox in just a few swipes.
Which email apps are right for you, though? As always, that comes down to preference and experimentation. However, if you’re looking for a few recommendations to get started, we highly recommend that you consider the following email apps for iPhone and iPad.
Airmail
Airmail has long been considered the gold standard of email applications. While time and new competition have diminished that reputation somewhat, Airmail is still a fantastic option for those looking to upgrade their email clients.
Airmail made a name for itself as a desktop client, but the mobile version of the app is also pretty good. Much like its desktop sibling, the draw of Airmail for iOS is the way it allows you to manage and customize your inbox. In the case of your mobile device, that even means being able to set custom swipe gestures that afford you an unprecedented degree of control. You can even send an email to your “To Do” apps.
With its extensive support and upgrade history and variety of integration features, Airmail should still be one of your first looks if you’re interested in upgrading your mobile email experience.
Boxer
The biggest advantage of the best iPhone email apps is their ability to utilize swipe gestures. Many email clients are naturally confused and cluttered. Swipe gestures are a natural way to eliminate so much of the confusion.
Boxer has always been one of the most innovative email apps when it comes to swipe gestures. Through the use of some simple, custom gestures, Boxer makes it easy to manage emails in bulk with minimal time and effort. This makes it instantly appealing to those who have to deal with extreme email volume.
What you may not know is that fairly recent upgrades to Boxer make it a more complete email client than ever. Simply put, this should be the go-to iOS email app for anyone who has to deal with a ton of emails.
Canary
Security is more than a buzzword when it comes to apps. You trust your apps and devices with a ton of personal information. You don’t want to think about what could happen if the wrong person was able to access your emails.
Security is definitely the biggest selling point when it comes to Canary. It’s one of the top apps on the market that allows you to encrypt your emails. This allows you to feel that much more confident whenever you send a message. Even better, Canary works with many popular existing email clients.
Canary is also an extensive day-to-day email client that you should be able to use without issue. Still, this is the email app you want to consider when the security of your messages is your top priority.
Dispatch
Does looking over your email inbox overwhelm you every time? Do you feel like you need a separate to-do list just to get through your messages? You’d be surprised how common that feeling is.
You may also be surprised how much Dispatch can help. This email app essentially treats your inbox as a to-do list. It allows you to easily categorize and manage your emails through customized actions and advanced sorting features. It’s much easier to manage even the most unwieldy inboxes once you’re able to break down your folders and messages into bite-size chunks.
Dispatch is certainly worth checking out if you’re one of the many who feel simply overwhelmed by the number of emails they receive.
Edison Mail
Time and technology have done little to diminish the impact of junk mail. Everybody receives an absurd amount of junk and other messages that just clog your inbox. What’s worse is that standard email clients only do so much to help you manage it all.
That’s part of the reason why Edison is so remarkably popular. Edison is an email client designed to help you take care of the junk, spam, and otherwise unwanted email in your life. It does so via a series of smart filters and custom categorization options that lets you put all messages exactly where they need to be.
Edison is also loved by travelers due to its unique travel notification system. Overall, it’s just a great email app that can help you take control over your emails one more.
Gmail
As one of the most popular email apps in the world, you probably don’t need to be told what Gmail is. However, it would be irresponsible to make a list of the best email apps in the world without including it.
The appeal of Gmail is based on a few factors. First off, it boasts extensive integration with common Google apps. Second, it’s one of the easiest email apps in the world to use. Finally, its popularity means that it’s also one of the most supported apps in the world from a security and community standpoint.
Honestly, there’s no real reason not to be using Gmail. You just might choose to supplement it with a slightly more advanced and specialized email app client.
Mail by Apple
The popular perception regarding Apple’s mail program is that it’s the simplest email client out there. That’s true in many ways.
However, the simplicity of this service isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Over the years, Apple has refined their mail service to make it as user-friendly as possible. They’ve really gone out of their way to ensure that their mail service works well on mobile devices. These refinements mean that Mail by Apple offers an easy-to-use interface designed for daily use.
Again, you may need to supplement this service with a third-party app in order to get certain features, but the base services offered here are simple and simply incredible.
Missive
Services like Slack make it easier than ever for employees to communicate with each other. However, there’s a big gap out there for email clients designed to service multiple users in an office setting.
Missive is designed to accommodate the input of several users on the same account. That means detailed categorization, smart reply systems, and even collaborative drafting for tricky emails. If you’ve ever bounced an email between multiple parties before sending it, you’ll instantly recognize how such features can help you.
There are just so few email apps out there that do what Missive does so well. For users in the right situation, it’s a real game-changer.
Nine
Nine has been a popular email app option for Android users for quite some time now. Fairly recently, though, Nine’s developers decided to bring the service to iOS.
We’re glad they did. Nine is just a solid all-around email app that boasts some interesting features. For instance, it allows you to directly access an email server and skip some security hazards that can arise via intermediaries. It also boasts some top integration options with various services.
Nine is a great overall option for those looking for a little more security and overall usability.
Polymail
In recent years, emails have transitioned into primarily being a tool for professionals. By that, we mean that emails are rarely the preferred communication option in personal relationships.
It’s a good thing, then, that Polymail is an email app designed for businesses and professionals. With features like email scheduling, postponement options, and one tap unsubscribing, Polymail is designed to appeal to the modern busy professional. Navigating even its most complicated features is a breeze.
Polymail offers an incredible level of control for anyone who likes to truly manage their work emails in an efficient way.
Spark
There are a ton of email apps out there that makes it easier to manage your emails. What happens, though, when you want to manage them before you even read them? Wouldn’t it be nice to have e-mail apps that sort your emails before you ever see them?
That’s basically what Spark does. Its suite of customization options and filtering abilities makes it easy to manage incoming messages. At the very least, it makes it easy to sort relevant messages from relative junk.
Spark is great for businesses and personal users who want a smarter sort feature they don’t have to personally manage all of the time.
Spike
As we mentioned earlier, emails have taken a back seat to messengers when it comes to personal conversations. That’s partially due to the fact that such messenger services make personal communication much more efficient.
What Spike does is turn your emails into something that resembles a modern messaging service. Not only does this make it easier to manage prolonged email conversations, but it makes answering emails feel simpler.
Spike may not be for everyone, but its unique premise means that its certainly worth a look for any email users wanting something a little different.
Triage
Email is, of course, electronic mail, but your email isn’t exactly the same as traditional mail. For one thing, you rarely had to view all of your old physical mail at once.
Triage helps bridge the gap between physical and digital by turning your email into a series of “cards” (or envelopes). You get to view each card one at a time and decided what to do with each of them as you bring them up.
Again, this is a perfect solution for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the number of emails they have to manage and want a simpler solution.
Tutanota
As we previously stated, security is kind of a big deal when it comes to email apps. Not only is email security generally important, but there aren’t a ton of email apps out there that really emphasize security and productivity.
In terms of security, what Tutanota essentially does is offer you a private email server. In terms of ensuring the security of your private and personal messages, there are few options out there that work quite so well as that.
Unless you already have a private email option, this is just about as good as it gets when it comes to feeling safe about the emails you send and receive.
Unibox
The basic ideas of what an inbox design should look like haven’t changed a lot over the years. You open your email, see your messages in bulk, and decide what to do with them.
Unibox presents a slightly different email layout option. It emphasizes the sender of the message followed by the date of the messages and arranges them based on that information. What that means is that it’s easier than ever to prioritize frequent contacts over sporadic spam senders.
This “contact list” approach to email sorting may not be for everyone, but you may find that you actually love it.
