iOS Today 767: Mastering Mail

Hosts: Micah Sargent & Rosemary Orchard
Date: August 28, 2025
Theme: How to get the most out of Apple Mail and manage email efficiently on iOS—plus alternative email clients, automation tips, listener Q&A, and favorite app picks.

Episode Overview

This episode is all about the challenges of modern email management and the tools available—especially Apple's built-in Mail app on iOS. Micah and Rosemary explore powerful features of Apple Mail, share their personal workflows and preferred email clients, and answer listener feedback about related topics. The tone is informative, personal, and a bit playful, aimed at empowering listeners to wrangle their inboxes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Talk About Email? ([03:31])

• Micah Sargent shares his "controversial" view that email should die, as he finds it stress-inducing and mostly about junk management.
• Email is still a daily reality for most users, so mastering it—especially on iOS—is time well spent.

“Email, for me, is almost always an exercise in just trying to get rid of stuff that I don't need, and then having anxiety about getting rid of things I should be keeping.”
– Micah Sargent (03:31)

2. Deep Dive: Apple Mail on iOS ([04:30–11:50])

Categories Feature (Gmail-style)

• Primary, Transactions, Updates, Promotions, All Mail
• Helps prioritize, but can lead to ignoring less “important” but necessary emails.

Filters & Sorting

• Unread, flagged, to/cc’d to me, with attachments, VIPs, sent today, etc.
• Quick navigation with up/down arrows.

Time Sensitive Detection & Unsubscribe

• Apple Mail flags possible "time sensitive" messages and offers inline unsubscribe for mailing lists:

  “This is one way that you can help cut back on email—making use of this wonderful unsubscribe option.”
  – Micah Sargent (06:30)

Composing

• Basic formatting: bold, italics, typeface, indentation.
• Can set notifications for thread replies.

VIPs

• Allows focusing on messages from important contacts; risk of accumulating unread mail from non-VIPs.

Settings Walkthrough

• Add accounts, set default apps, adjust preview, customize swipe gestures, privacy settings (hide IP/load remote content privately), follow-up suggestions.

Mail Privacy

• Blocking tracking pixels and remote images is recommended for privacy:

  “I keep [load remote images] turned off so that the images that are from out on the web do not automatically load when I am working in a message.”
  – Micah Sargent (11:10)

Conclusion:
Apple Mail is “quite powerful” out-of-the-box. Worth exploring before looking into third-party solutions.

3. Essential Mail Tips ([13:56])

Undo Send ([13:56])

• Set a delay (default 10s) for sending emails, allowing quick recall if you forgot something.
• Considered “essential,” especially for catching mistakes post-send.

Reminders for Emails

• Helpful, but locations/settings can differ between iOS and Mac.

Auto-fill codes via Mail

• Even if you use another app, configuring Mail can enable autofill for login codes, with auto-delete for cleanup.

4. Advanced Email Management ([16:30–20:01])

Fastmail & Server-side Rules

• Rosemary Orchard (not sponsored content, despite Fastmail having been an advertiser) details using powerful, server-side rules for filtering and automating email actions.
• Examples: automatic archiving, snoozing, labeling, and copying for team automations.

“Mail rules make my email management so much easier. I have exactly two unread emails in my inbox right now. That’s it. I’m not kidding.”
– Rosemary Orchard (18:55)

Bonus Tip:

• When unsubscribing, search for all emails from a sender first and bulk-delete/archive/spam.

5. Alternative Email Clients ([20:01])

Spark

• Micah’s pick to use daily.
  • Handles multiple accounts via Spark server.
  • Syncs settings and accounts across platforms.
  • Team-focused collaboration features, easy sharing via links, snooze, spam, built-in calendar.
  • Classic Spark vs. AI-enabled version.
• Downsides: Server-side processing isn’t for everyone.
• Other mentioned: Airmail, Gmail (rules), iCloud (less robust rules).

"Ultimately … it boils down to what you’re looking for and getting used to a system. … Almost all of them have feature parity, so just pick one, give it a real try.”
– Micah Sargent (22:35)

Listener Feedback: Music Library Volume Normalization ([28:12])

• Tony asks about inconsistent song volume in iTunes/Apple Music despite Soundcheck.
• Micah explains Soundcheck normalizes loudest/quietest parts but not all levels; Apple's algorithm isn't as aggressive as DJs or streaming services.
• Suggestions: Try system-level EQ, toggling Soundcheck and rebooting, using third-party normalization for owned tracks, or hardware-based solutions.

“Apple is also a company that’s not interested in making music sound terrible by applying such a hard compression … so if or when you’re using Soundcheck, be aware that it’s trying to do ... not what you think.”
– Micah Sargent (29:40)

Shortcuts Corner: NFC Medication Tracking ([33:43])

• Marcos wants to log meds in Health via NFC/Shortcuts.
• Rosemary:
  • Health Shortcuts cannot log medications directly (yet), but third-party apps can.
  • Her app, Capsule, offers free automation for logging meds via NFC automation with the iOS Shortcuts app.
  • Tips on using remountable NFC discs vs stickers, and ideas for broader NFC automation.

“HealthKit and Apple’s APIs do not allow you to log or indeed interact with medications through shortcuts. That is the bad news … but my app Capsule has the ability to do everything via shortcuts.”
– Rosemary Orchard (34:53)

App Picks (App Caps) ([41:03])

Micah: Notify Website Monitoring ([41:10])

• Monitors website changes locally (no server required)
• Useful for ticket sales, item prices, developer documentation updates, etc.
• Granular CSS selectors filter what’s monitored.
• Free, no in-app purchases.

Rosemary: NetNewsWire ([43:44])

• Free, open-source RSS feed reader
• Syncs via iCloud or services like Feedbin, Feedly, self-hosting, etc.
• Handles news, podcast feeds, newsletters, subreddits
• Clean, ad-free way to stay up-to-date; “I use this all the time.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I said email should die. And that was not a popular, controversial opinion.”
  — Micah Sargent (03:31)

• “Undo send is a feature in mail on iPhone … and you know what, I have never needed to send an email faster than ten seconds from now.”
  — Rosemary Orchard (13:56)

• “Mail rules make my email management so much easier. … I have exactly two unread emails in my inbox right now. That’s it. I’m not kidding.”
  — Rosemary Orchard (18:55)

• “Search by the sender of the email … select all, mark as spam, select all, delete, etc. … That’s one of my bonus tips there.”
  — Rosemary Orchard (19:50)

• “Spark is interesting and, to some, a little bit controversial because … a lot of the processing [is] server-side.”
  — Micah Sargent (20:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:31 – Why email is a necessary but disliked part of daily tech life
• 04:30–11:50 – Full walkthrough of Apple Mail’s features and setup on iOS
• 13:56 – Undo Send and reminders in Mail
• 16:30 – Fastmail and advanced rules/filtering
• 20:01 – Spark as a powerful third-party mail client; choosing your tools
• 28:10 – Listener feedback: music volume normalization
• 33:43 – Shortcuts Corner: NFC pill tracking automation
• 41:03 – App caps: Notify (Micah) and NetNewsWire (Rosemary)

Closing Thoughts

The episode’s advice: Don’t be afraid to explore the built-in Mail app, but also try alternatives if your needs grow. Invest in rules and filters to prevent inbox chaos. Automate where you can, and take advantage of iOS features—there’s a lot of power at your fingertips, often hiding in plain sight.