I’ve reviewed a lot of email apps recently and there are always more of them. That might seem like a complaint but even if it does mean more work for our massive email round up post, it is good for customers. The fact that people approach their emails differently and have different preferences and needs requires a wide variety.
With that in mind, I’m taking a look at long time Mac application that has finally made it’s way to iOS. Airmail.
What is Airmail
Airmail is an email client from Bloop. It supports a wide variety of email standards including imap, iCloud, gmail, exchange, Yahoo! And more. It also features a simple design but hides a lot of powerful features behind the scenes. Today I’m only going to look at Airmail for iOS, Eric has previously reviewed the macOS version of Airmail.
The Good
Like most modern email clients, Airmail for iOS supports snoozing emails and swipe gestures (which can be customized) for quick actions. These include, archive, delete, snooze and action list. The action list is a category that stand out from other clients. It contains typical email functions like archive, add a label, add to VIP and so on as well as powerful actions like create PDF, add a todo action, unsubscribe, and the ability to share data to other application on your device.
For example, if you get a delivery confirmation and have the delivery app, you can send that data over and add a tracker to your information.
This makes it a powerful tool on iOS for doing more with email than simply reading and replying. You can take that data and use it for more beyond the email app with a simple click. In my opinion that is the big selling point of Airmail vs other email clients. It get’s a lot of tools like swiping right, but so do many other clients. These powerful actions set it apart.
The Bad
The gestures on Airmail aren’t as easy as some other iOS email apps, it can be too easy to activate a long swipe in comparison with Spark (which conversely can be too difficult to active a long swipe). If you start your swipe to far from the center, you’ll probably activate a long swipe, even if you swipe quickly and with very little movement. Instead you need to swipe from the middle.
It’s not too difficult to get used to and in many ways makes more sense and can lead to more speed at processing email. However, the fact that this is different from most apps can cause confusion at times.
The other issue that may upset some users is how Airmail creates its own folder. These are to handle delaying emails and is a common practice with these sort of email apps. However, once you’ve added a few of these emails apps, you’ll find a large group of similar folders clogging up your inbox.
Wrapping Up
Airmail features a familiar interface but with a few real power features that make it a very powerful email app on iOS. The actions in particular set it apart from rivals. With the great macOS app as well, this is certainly an option to consider if you drink the Apple kool-aid.
Design: 5
Features: 4.5
Performance: 4
Value for Money: 4
Airmail supports iOS and macOS.
You can find Airmail for iOS here and macOS here and learn more on the Airmail website.
Eric Dye says
It looks like they’ve done a great job brining Airmail to iOS. 😀
Chris says
I really like it on iOS. It’s one of my top two picks now along with Spark. I used to really like spark but it stopped working the way it used to for me so Airmail replaced it. Plus the mac app