The Only Email App You Need
I've waited 1,655 days to write this
9/30/2018 (30/9/2018 for my non-American friends)
A few hours ago, I had just picked up my first new phone with my family: the iPhone 8.
After entering a state of joy from the beautiful screen and powerful camera (I was coming from an ancient iPhone 5), one of the first things I did was look for cool productivity apps.
Spark was the first app I saw in the App Store under "productivity". And I've used it nearly every day since then.
Here's why I love Spark.
The Boring Stuff 😐
Spark is a free app.
While there is a paid plan starting at $7.99/month, you probably won’t need it (I haven't even thought of upgrading).
On the App Store, Spark has a 4.7/5 rating from over 63,000 users (in other words, people love it).
Spark also has support for languages other than English - it supports English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Ukrainian.
Smart Inbox 🧠
My favorite feature is the Smart Inbox.
Smart Inbox sorts your emails into categories like People, Notifications, Newsletters, etc.
In other words, no more sorting through spam and email from your grandma. Hooray.
Unlike other email apps, Smart Inbox keeps pinned emails (aka starred emails) at the top of the inbox. This keeps the important stuff from getting too deep into my black hole email inbox.
Organization 🗄️
I'm gonna be totally honest with you—I'm one of those guys with 9 email accounts. I LOVE email apps that help me organize everything.
By default, Spark collects emails from everything into my main inbox.
With one tap, I can view emails from a specific email address. With two taps, I can see email folders (like Sent, Pins, Spam, Archive, etc.) for the chosen email.
In addition, Spark offers a variety of other "Smart Folders" for users on top of the default options.
Like other email apps, Spark also lets users add custom folders for each email address.
Customization 🎨
If you're the type to change your wallpaper every week, you'll love Spark and its customization features.
For instance, you can customize actions for different swipes—you can choose options for a left short swipe, left long swipe, right short swipe, and a right long swipe.
You can also customize the appearance of the app, the default browser, the toolbar, etc.
Signatures 🖊️
Another cool feature from Spark is email signatures. While these aren’t unique to Spark, the app’s functionality helps people with multiple email accounts and multiple signatures.
With 9 email accounts, I need different signatures for different accounts (don't wanna respond to my teachers the way I respond to my best friend).
With Spark, I can do just that.
I can add any email signature I need and set default signatures for individual email addresses.
And if you're ever worried about an email signature, you can always adjust it within each individual email you send.
Integrations 🤝
I haven’t tried this feature, but Spark offers a bunch of integrations with other productivity apps.
Here’s the full list if you’re interested (as of the time of writing): Files, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, Pocket, Evernote, OneNote, Instapaper, Reminders, OmniFocus, 2Do, Things, Todoist, Asana, Trello, MeisterTask, TickTick, Bear, Agenda, GoToMeeting, and Zoom.
Quick Replies 💬
Another feature I haven’t tried is Quick Replies.
With Spark, users can reply to emails with icons (kinda like the like/dislike reactions for iMessage). Spark has eight default options, and users can add more if needed.
Templates 📋
Spark also lets you create email templates for any common emails you receive.
I don’t know if I have a use for it, but it could be helpful in work settings (that’s the example Spark shows in the app).
Security 🔒
The app has multiple security features in case you have sensitive email data.
Spark has options to load remote images and protect notification actions.
Spark also provides the option to add a passkey to access the app. In addition to adding a passkey, you can choose if you want to require it immediately and if you want to enable Face ID.
Shortcuts 🛣️
I just found out about this feature while writing this post - Spark can be used for Shortcuts!
At the moment, there are three basic functions you can automate:
• Opening a folder
• Searching emails
• Composing an email
With each, you can customize the function.
When opening a folder, you can choose which folder to open and which email address to access
When searching through emails, you can add filters to the search.
When composing an email, you can customize the sender address, text, subject, bcc, cc, receiver address, and signature.
Final Thoughts
"To not have an email address is the digital equivalent of being homeless. Without it you can't shop online, bank online, or engage with social media"—Dela Quist
(sorry to my regular readers, this was the most relevant email quote I could find lol)
Thanks for reading!
Adi
Really enjoyed this post!