I have quickly realised that having push notifications turned on for all email is a fool’s errand. So I did the next best thing, only enabled push notifications for VIP contacts I specifically setup in the Mail app. But with iOS 10, I’m letting go of that as well. Because now there’s a quick way for me to see if I have any unread email from any of my VIP contacts, without even unlocking my phone.
All of this is thanks to the new Mail widget in iOS 10. It shows unread email for each VIP contact (well, up to 8 contacts), plus how many unread VIP emails I have in total (when I use 3D Touch on the app icon).
So now all I do is 3D Touch the mail app icon or swipe right on the lock screen to get to the Mail widget. Let me show you how you can set this up.
Enable Mail Widget
Widgets are everywhere in iOS 10. And the Mail widgets works in 3 places.
- When you 3D Touch on the Mail app icon. When you do this, you’ll also get a Quick Action that tells you how many total VIP unread emails you have.
- When you swipe right on the Lock screen for the Today view.
- When you swipe right from the first screen on the Home screen.
- When you swipe right from the Notification Center.
To enable the Mail widget, go to the Today view, swipe to the bottom and tap “Edit“.
From the list, find the “Mail” app and tap the “+” icon next to it.
Now use the “Handle” icon on the right side to reorder the widget.
Add and Edit VIP Contacts
If for some reason you haven’t set up VIP contacts, here’s how you do it. To add someone to VIP list, they’ll need to be in your contact list first.
Open the Mail app, tap the “Mailboxes” back button if you’re currently in the inbox and select the “i” icon you see next to the “VIP” text.
Tap “Add VIP..” and from the contact list, search and add the contact. That’s it.
More Mail App Tips and Tricks
There’s a lot more you can do using the Mail app. Here are our best tips and tricks you should check out.
Read more:
How Do You Use VIPs in Mail App
What are your preferred ways of using the VIP feature in the mail app? Share with us in the comments below.
