If you’ve ever used the Mail app on your Mac and then compared it to more or less any of the best email apps, you’ll know that Apple’s offering is some way behind its rivals. After all, it lacked features like inbox sorting, message snoozing and undo send for years — not exactly the height of technology, yet Mail strangely went without.
Sure, Mail has the advantage of solid privacy and security, including a Mail Privacy Protection feature that thwarts trackers’ attempts to harvest your data. But that’s never really been enough to make Mail particularly exciting. It’s simple and functional, but not much else.
That’s apparently going to change in April with the release of macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman (and the beta should be available before then). This update will apparently bring a key new feature that should finally drag Mail kicking and screaming into 2025.
With macOS 15.4, Gurman reports that Mail will receive a significant redesign. The key element of this new look is the introduction of inbox sorting, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) to categorize your messages into sections, including Primary, Transactions, Updates and Promotions. This has been the case in the iPhone version of Mail for a while now, but the Mac has been left behind. Thankfully, that’s all about to end.
With inbox sorting enabled, Mail will automatically siphon your messages into the most appropriate category. No longer will you have to sift through newsletters and vouchers to find adorable photos of your grandkids or meeting schedules from your colleagues. Unimportant messages will be filed away out of your inbox, leaving your main feed free for the things that need your attention right now.
You’ve got Mail
We’ve known for a while that improvements are coming to the Mac Mail app. After all, previous betas have added Apple Intelligence features to the app, including automated email and thread summaries, plus the addition of Writing Tools that can rewrite your text and suggest changes. But this is the first time we’ve had a date for Mail’s redesigned inbox and message sorting feature.
But let’s be honest, mail sorting should have debuted long ago. It’s not rocket science — dozens of email apps have boasted this feature for years — and I’m pretty surprised that a company of Apple’s size, with its glut of creative and engineering talent, hasn’t implemented it sooner.
Still, the question remains over whether inbox sorting, combined with Mail’s other Apple Intelligence features, will make the app a more attractive option.
For some people, including myself, it undoubtedly will. I’m not a wildly enthusiastic Apple fanboy, but I’m willing to give Mail another shot. Really, it comes down to the app being greater overall than the sum of its parts.
For example, I don’t imagine I’ll get a huge amount of use out of the Writing Tools — I write for a living, after all, so I’m fine penning my own messages. The inbox sorting will certainly be handy, but I’ve been using it with Gmail for more years than I can remember. It’s not particularly exciting.
Seen in isolation, these features might not seem that enticing. But you’ve got to remember that they’re coming to an app that puts premier importance on privacy and has a bunch of features to keep your data safe, which is something that’s very important to me. As well as that, Mail has a clean, uncluttered layout that’s never overwhelming. And it’s satisfyingly fast, too.
Put together, that means Mail might be back on the menu. After so long going without Apple’s app, I’m still cautious over whether it will win me over, but I’m prepared to give it a try. After all, if I don’t like the inbox sorting, I can turn it off or just go back to Spark, my current app of choice. I’ve nothing to lose from retrying Mail, and potentially a great new email app to gain.
