Apple slipped a significant new feature into Mail in iOS 18.2, and it has nothing to do with Apple Intelligence: Categories. Like Gmail and other email apps, Mail can now automatically sort messages into four buckets: Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. The idea is that categories make it easier to focus on important messages while gathering the rest for later. Just tap the buttons at the top to switch between them.
Oddly, Categories are currently available only on the iPhone. To keep the same email experience across all your Apple devices, you will have to wait for future versions of Mail on the iPad and Mac.
Here are answers to questions I have been hearing from clients about Mail Categories.
Can you turn Mail Categories off?
Apple turned Categories on by default in iOS 18.2, but not everyone loves the change. If you have your own organizational system, find the extra sections distracting, or just want all your email in one list, you can turn the feature off. Tap the ••• button at the top right of the Mail screen and select List View.
You can also keep Categories on and still see everything in a simple chronological list. Swipe left on the row of buttons to switch to an All Mail category that shows exactly what you would see in List View.
What appears in each category?
With Categories on, Mail automatically separates your mail into four categories:
- Primary: Personal messages, plus time-sensitive information from another category
- Transactions: Order confirmations, receipts, and shipping notices
- Updates: News, mailing lists, newsletters, and social media updates
- Promotions: Sale announcements, new products, coupons, and anything commercial
These categories are built in, so you cannot pick and choose among them, and you cannot add your own.
Is there a way to recategorize messages?
Unfortunately, Categories is not very good at categorizing yet. Perhaps it should use Apple Intelligence! I keep seeing newsletters and other items that belong in Updates incorrectly landing in Promotions. The good news is that you can recategorize messages from particular senders so Mail gets similar messages right in the future. The steps depend on where the message is. For messages in Primary, tap the left-pointing blue arrow at the bottom of the screen, then tap Categorize Sender. For messages in other categories, tap the ••• at the top right of the screen, then tap Categorize Sender.
On the next screen, tap the category you want and confirm your choice.
The main catch: messages from discussion-based mailing lists may be identified by their senders rather than the list, so you might have to recategorize each sender separately.
Why are messages from the same sender grouped?
When you open a message in Transactions, Updates, or Promotions, you may be surprised to see a digest view showing all the other messages from that sender. It is often a handy way to keep similar messages together. Opening a message shows the most recent one, and you can scroll to see the rest. Whether you scroll up or down depends on whether Settings > Apps > Mail > Most Recent Message on Top is turned on. How many lines appear in the message view depends on your choice in Settings > Apps > Mail > Preview.
Not a fan of the sender groups? You can turn the feature off for Transactions, Updates, and Promotions individually by tapping the ••• at the top right and deselecting Group by Sender.
What are Priority Notifications?
If you are using an iPhone 15 Pro or any iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence turned on, you may see priority notifications on the Primary screen. They surface the messages Apple Intelligence considers most important. If you do not like them, tap ••• in the upper right and deselect Show Priority.
Overall, Mail Categories feels like Apple playing catch-up with other email apps. If it fits the way your email flows and you find it useful, that is great. But if not, do not hesitate to turn it off and go back to the email workflow you know.
If email on your iPhone still feels like a chore, I can help you tame it. Schedule a session with me and we will get your inbox working the way you want.