10 Tips for Using the Mail App on Apple Watch Like a Pro!

When you’re on the go, being able to view important emails on your Apple Watch is great. But the Mail app on Apple Watch is more than just reading your email.

Here are some tips to get the most out of the Mail app and manage email on your Apple Watch with ease.

1. Select mailboxes to display

Just because you have multiple email accounts connected to the Mail app on your iPhone doesn’t mean you want to see them all on your watch. You can choose which mailboxes to display so you can see the most important emails.

You can select accounts using the Mail app on Apple Watch or the Watch app on iPhone.

Select email accounts on Apple Watch.

1. To select email accounts on the watch itself, start by opening the Mail app.
2. Go to the main Mailboxes screen. If you’re viewing your Inbox, tap the arrow in the top left to return to the Mailboxes screen.
3. Scroll down and select Edit.
4. When you see a list of available email accounts, click to check the box next to the ones you want to see.

You can then click the arrow to return to the mailboxes screen.

Select your email accounts in the Watch app.

1. Launch the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Scroll down and select Mail.
3. Select Enable Mail under Mail Settings.
4. Click to check the box next to the email accounts you want to see.

Then use the arrow in the top left corner to exit these settings.

2. View a specific account

In addition to selecting specific email accounts to view on Apple Watch, you can navigate directly to one of those email accounts at any time. So, if you are looking for an email for your iCloud mail, you can open that particular mailbox.

1. From the Mailboxes home screen in the Mail app on Apple Watch.
2. Click on a mail service to open the corresponding mailbox.

Alternatively, you can view all emails received from all displayed accounts by selecting the All Inbox mailbox.

3. Archive, flag or flag email messages

If you want to take action on an email on your Apple Watch, you can do so without even opening the message. Of course, you can also take action if you are reading an email.

1. Navigate to your Inbox or All Inbox if you prefer.
2. To archive or flag an email, swipe it from right to left. You’ll then see the Archive and Mark/Unmark options. Just click to choose one.
3. To mark an email as read or unread, swipe it from left to right. If you have read the email, you will see an “Unread”icon, if not, you will see a “Read”icon. Just click to mark your preferences.

Along with using swipe actions to archive, tag or flag emails, you can also do this from the email itself. Open the letter and scroll down. In the “Reply”and “Reply All”sections, you’ll see Archive Message, Mark as Read/Unread, and Mark/Unmark.

4. Confirm before archiving or deleting emails

Since you can archive (or delete) an email with a simple swipe, it’s easy to click this option by mistake. To avoid accidentally archiving or deleting email, you can enable a feature that will be requested first.

1. Open the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select Mail → then select Custom at the top. This feature is not available if you use the Mirror My iPhone option.
3. Then scroll down and turn on the “Ask before delete”toggle.
4. Moving forward, if you archive or delete an email, you will be asked to confirm by clicking Archive or Delete.

5. Set up email notifications

You may want to be able to see inboxes of your choice, but only receive notifications for certain ones. You can customize the alerts you receive for each account and choose to hear audio and receive haptic touches at the same time.

1. Open the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select Mail → then select Custom at the top.
3. Select “Allow Notifications”to receive alerts, or “Send to Notification Center”to display alerts only in that location.
4. Select an account from the list below → then turn on the “Show alerts from [account]”toggle.
5. Optionally, turn on the toggles for sounds and haptics to hear an audio alert and receive touch.
6. Use the Mail arrow in the top left corner to return to the Mail settings.

6. Change the message preview

When you receive an email, you automatically see a preview that includes the first line or two. This will help you understand what the letter is about. But since you have limited screen space on your Apple Watch, you can shrink or remove the preview entirely, here’s how.

1. Open the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select “Mail”and then scroll down to the “Mail Preferences”section.
3. Tap Message Preview.
4. Then select None, 1 Line, or 2 Lines. If you select No, you will only see the sender and the subject line.

Use the Mail arrow in the top left corner to return to the Mail settings.

7. View deleted content

Many of the emails you receive may contain images. In Mail on Apple Watch, these messages contain links pointing to images on the web. If you want to see these images in emails, you can automatically download the content.

Note. Enabling this feature may slow down the loading of emails.

1. Open the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select “Mail”and select “Custom”at the top. If you have the Mirror My iPhone option selected, you will see the Always Download Content Directly option below.
3. Turn on the “Download remote images”switch in the “Mail Settings”section.

If you disable this feature later, you will be prompted to download the remote content when you open the email.

8. Organize emails by topic

Like Mail on your iPhone, you can organize your inbox by topic. This is useful for viewing these email messages grouped together.

1. Open the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select Mail → then select Custom at the top. This feature is not available if you are using the Mirror My iPhone option.
3. Turn on the “Organize by Thread” toggle in the “Mail Settings” section.

9. Customize and use default responses

Default replies make it quick and easy to add messages to emails. They’re especially useful on the Apple Watch, where precise typing or dictation can take a while.

By setting default replies in advance, you can simply insert a pre-made message when composing or replying to an email.

1. Open the Watch app on iPhone → go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select Mail → tap Default Replies.
3. You will see several answers suggested by Apple, which you can delete if you wish. You can also add your own.
   • To delete a reply or change the order in which they appear, click Edit in the upper right corner. Then use the minus sign on the left to delete one, or drag the three lines from the right up or down to move one.
   • To create a response, click “Add Response”at the bottom. Enter your answer and press “Done”on your keyboard when you’re done.

Use default answers

1. To use the default reply when replying, open an email on your Apple Watch and scroll down.
2. Select “Reply”or “Reply all”depending on your preference.
3. Tap the Add Message field.
4. You will then see your default answers below the suggestions. Just click to choose one and paste it into your answer.

You can then add to the answer, edit it, or send an email along the way.

To use the default reply when composing an email, tap the Compose Message box, then select a reply from the Suggestions section.

10. Create and edit a signature

Email signatures are handy for automatically signing your messages. Whether you include just your first name or your name along with something like your company, website, or phone number, you can save time and include valuable data for your recipient.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to the My Watch tab.
2. Select Mail → tap Signature.
3. Enter your signature in the field that appears. By default, you should see “Sent from Apple Watch”, but you can use whatever you want.

Your signature is then automatically added to your outgoing emails.

If you want to edit the signature later, just follow the same steps to make changes.

Take control of your mail on your Apple Watch!

The ability to customize the Mail app on Apple Watch to suit your needs is a great way to get the most out of the app. Do you have similar tips for using Mail on Apple Watch that you’d like to share?

To learn more, check out these tips and tricks for Apple Mail on iPhone and iPad!