Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Use Mail in iOS 7
So far, the bulk of this topic has been about Mavericks Mail. Although I've mentioned iOS 7
Mail from time to time (and some of the things I've discussed apply equally to both platforms),
Mail in iOS 7 has enough unique characteristics that it deserves its own chapter. As was the
case for the Mavericks version of Mail, I'm not going to cover every feature here. Instead, I
want to point out the most important things you need to understand in order to use iOS 7 Mail
effectively—especially aspects of Mail that are unclear, obscure, or otherwise confusing.
You may be aware that I previously wrote a topic called
Take Control of Mail on the iPhone,
iPad, and iPod touch
. Although this chapter doesn't go into as much detail as that topic did,
it covers the most interesting parts of Mail—while omitting much of the material that's either
self-explanatory or redundant with the Mavericks version of Mail. In other words: don't worry
that you're missing anything crucial just because this is a single chapter rather than a full
topic!
I begin with a list of the key differences between iOS 7 Mail and OS X Mail. Then I move on to
12 Things Every iOS Mail User Should Know
and wrap up with how to
Troubleshoot iOS Mail
iOS 7 Mail vs. OS X Mail
Mail in iOS 7 shares a great deal in common with Mail in Mavericks, so anyone accustomed
to one platform should be able to pick up the other easily. Naturally, the iOS version makes
accommodations for smaller screens, a touch-screen interface, and the numerous iOS user in-
terface conventions that differ from those of OS X. I won't spell all those out here, but I do
think it's worth pointing out several key differences in functionality—as well as a few similar-
ities you may not have noticed.
Here's what you should know about the iOS 7 version of Mail:
•
No rules or spam filtering:
If you want to sort messages or weed out junk mail
automatically, it's best to set these tasks up on your mail server. (See
Use Rules
and
Control Spam
, respectively.)
•
Push (but no IMAP IDLE):
Mail in iOS supports push delivery of messages
from iCloud, Exchange, and Yahoo IMAP accounts—and push works even when
Mail isn't open (see
Fetch, Push, and IMAP IDLE
). However, IMAP servers that
offer only IMAP IDLE as a way of “pushing” messages don't give you push delivery
