In the Mail app, you can read emails yourself or have Apple Intelligence summarize them for you. You can also add contacts and preview an email’s contents without opening it.
If you don’t have time for a primary message right away, Remind Me brings it back to the top of the list at a time and date you choose. You can also quickly mark multiple emails as read, and add Remind Me to the toolbar in the Mail app.
Quick tip: When you check your email, Apple Intelligence may suggest actions, like adding a reminder or creating a calendar event. To accept one, click the suggestion.
Note: Suggested actions in Mail on iPadOS 27 or later is an Apple Intelligence feature available on iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later in supported regions when device language is set to English.*
Read an email
- Open the Mail app on your iPad.
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Tap the message you want to read.
Tip: Tap the Expand Message button to hide the message list when reading a message.
Use Remind Me to come back to a Primary message later
If a primary message has to wait, you can set a time and date for a reminder, and the message returns to the top of your inbox.
- Open the Mail app on your iPad.
- Tap a Primary message, tap the Reply button at the bottom right of the message, tap Remind Me, and then choose when to be reminded.
Quick tip: For easier access, add Remind Me to the toolbar in the Mail app. Check out our guide, Customize the Mail toolbar.
Quickly mark multiple emails as read
- Open the Mail app on your iPad.
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While viewing a message list, tap the More button, tap Select, and then select the messages you want to mark.
Important: When you select a Transactions, Updates, or Promotions message, you’re selecting all the messages in that category from the sender.
- Tap the Mark button at the bottom of the message list and then choose Mark as Read.
Note: The unread count on your Home Screen only reflects your Primary category. If you’d rather see your total number of unread messages across all categories instead, go to Settings > Notifications > Mail > Customize Notifications and turn on All Unread Messages.
Preview a Primary message and a list of options
If you want to see what a Primary message is about but not open it completely, you can preview it.
- Open the Mail app on your iPad.
- In the Primary message list, touch and hold a message to preview its contents and see a list of options for replying, moving it, and more.
Show a longer preview for every email
By default, Mail shows two lines of text for each email message in your inbox, but you can choose to see more lines without opening the message.
Go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Preview (below Message List), then choose up to five lines.
Show the whole conversation
Go to Settings > Apps > Mail, then turn on Organize by Thread (below Threading).
Note: You can also change other settings here, like Collapse Read Messages or Most Recent Message on Top.
Show To and Cc labels in your Inbox
Go to Settings > Apps > Mail, then turn on Show To/Cc Labels (below Message List).
You can also view the To/Cc mailbox, which gathers all mail addressed to you. To show or hide it, tap the Show Sidebar button in the upper-left corner of the Mail app, tap Edit above Mailboxes, then select “To or Cc.”
Add someone to your contacts or make them a VIP
If you add someone to your contacts, it’s easy to find their email messages later. Or make them a VIP, so every message you receive from them is starred automatically.
- Open the Mail app on your iPad.
- In a message, tap a person’s name or email address and then do one of the following:
- Add a new contact: Tap View Contact Card and then tap Create New Contact. Fill in any other contact information and then tap the Done button.
- Add the email address to an existing contact: Tap View Contact Card, then tap Add to Existing Contact. Select a contact, then tap the Done button.
- Add to your VIP list: Tap Add to VIP.
Show or hide contact photos
- Open the Mail app on your iPad.
- In an inbox, tap the More button at the top of the screen. Select or deselect Show Contact Photos.
Summarize your email
Apple Intelligence can help you summarize a complex email, or catch up on a long email thread in seconds.
Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*
Go to the Mail app on your iPad.
A short summary automatically appears under each email in your inbox.
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Tap the Sidebar button, tap an email, then tap Summarize.
Note: You may need to scroll to the top of the screen for the Summarize button to appear.
A summary appears at the top of the screen. If the message is part of an email thread, the contents of the thread are summarized.
*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.
See also
- Send email in Mail on iPad
- Reply to and forward emails in Mail on iPad
- Get started with Mail on iPad
