Apple recently introduced intelligent categories to its mobile Mail app, offering a streamlined inbox experience. This feature, designed to declutter and improve content discovery, has been absent on macOS, but that’s about to change. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Mail categories are expected to arrive on Mac desktops with the macOS 15.4 update this April.
Apple has already released the third beta of macOS 15.3, indicating that the 15.4 test build is still a few weeks away. These new categories will automatically sort emails into four distinct groups: Primary for personal and time-sensitive communications, Promotions for sales and deals, Updates for social media and news, and Transactions for shopping-related notifications.
Users will have the option to manually recategorize emails if needed and can revert to the traditional List view if the automatic categorization proves unsatisfactory.
Mail app for Mac.
Apple has already integrated AI into various macOS features, including Mail. Existing AI-powered functionalities include Smart Reply, Priority Messages, email summarization, and summary previews. Another notable addition is Writing Tools, leveraging OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology, which assists with composing, refining, rewriting, proofreading, and reorganizing text within emails.
The reception of the email categorization system has been mixed. While it offers improved inbox organization and consolidates important conversations, some iPhone users have expressed concerns and sought ways to return to the previous format. These concerns are not solely aesthetic; some users have reported functional issues with the new system.
Categories in Apple Mail app.
MaagX’s Bryan M. Wolfe shared his experience: “After upgrading to iOS 18.2 and encountering the new Mail Categories feature, I quickly realized that it complicated rather than simplified my digital life. I noticed that some emails that should have gone to my Primary inbox ended up in random categories instead.”
Another limitation is the rigidity of the system, as users cannot create additional custom categories. If the Bloomberg report proves accurate, Apple has a window of opportunity to address user feedback and refine the system before its macOS rollout. The update, while promising improved organization, needs to balance automation with user control and flexibility to ensure a truly enhanced email experience for all Mac users.
