Buzz
The landscape of iPhone email apps has evolved greatly over the years, with one constant: no app seems to hold the top spot for long. At the moment, two major contenders are Airmail and Spark. Let’s dive into the features that set them apart.
The Contenders
Navigating the endless array of email apps in the App Store is no easy task. What’s even more frustrating is that whenever an app gains popularity, such as Mailbox, Sparrow, or Acompli, it often gets bought by a corporation and either integrated into another service or discontinued altogether. For now, Airmail and Spark remain two strong favorites. Let’s take a closer look at them:
Airmail ($4.99): Airmail made its debut on Mac and is our top choice for a Mac email client. That foundation shows in the iPhone app, with a wealth of customization options available. Beyond the standard features like support for Gmail, Exchange, IMAP, and POP3 accounts, Airmail also offers advanced features like location-based notifications, customizable swipe gestures, and more.
- Spark (Free): Spark originally launched on iPhone, followed by the Mac app soon after. Its mobile-first design philosophy makes it more streamlined and user-friendly than Airmail. Spark feels like a modern successor to Sparrow, so if you loved that app, Spark could be a great fit. As expected, Spark supports Gmail, Exchange, and IMAP email accounts, along with options for a unified inbox.
While both Spark and Airmail are excellent email apps, they each shine in different areas. Let’s narrow down which one is best suited for your needs.
Spark Excels at Email Organization and Smart Notifications
Spark’s key selling point is its “intelligence.” It offers a “smart” inbox, “smart” search, and “smart” notifications. In practice, this translates into a lot of automation, which works especially well for those who don’t want to manually organize their emails.
The smart inbox is the standout feature of Spark. It sorts emails into categories like personal, newsletters, or notifications, and groups them accordingly. It also uses this system to send you notifications only for important emails, usually those marked as personal. Of course, you can opt for notifications on all emails, but Spark’s charm lies in the fact that you don’t need to. In my experience, it’s been pretty effective. I always receive notifications for replies to my emails, and a select few from people like Mytour team members or my parents. It’s not flawless, but I rarely miss anything crucial.
The search function in Spark is also touted as smarter, allowing you to search using natural language, like “attachments from Andy from last week.” It’s particularly useful for those who often need to search through their email inboxes.
Airmail offers some similar features, but they aren't the main focus. It lacks special inbox sorting options, but it does provide support for smart folders and various manual sorting methods.
Airmail also includes a smart notification feature, though it doesn’t appear as advanced or intuitive as Spark’s system. Instead, Airmail’s key strength in notifications is its VIP feature, where you only receive alerts for emails from designated senders. Its search functionality is more about manual control than natural language processing, with filters to help you narrow down your results.
In summary, Spark emphasizes automation, while Airmail prioritizes manual control. If email is a service you use without it being deeply integrated into your personal life, Spark’s automated features will streamline your inbox without too many oddities. If email is critical to you, Airmail provides the manual controls necessary to manage your inbox efficiently.
Airmail Is Perfect for Those Who Love Customization
For anyone who enjoys tailoring their email experience, Airmail is the way to go. With an extensive range of customization options, from custom swipe gestures to location-based notifications, it offers a level of personalization that’s hard to beat.
Airmail offers an extensive range of customization options, which is too vast to fully list here, but you can truly make this app your own. One of my favorite tweaks is adjusting the message preview size. You can decide how many lines to display for each email on the inbox screen, making it easier to prioritize emails without opening them. You’ll find all the expected features like labels, filters, and customizable signatures, along with many more options, such as automatic email transfers between accounts, resizing attachments, auto-CC’ing specific people on threads, and much more. Airmail’s documentation page is a helpful resource if you want to explore all these customization features.
Spark also offers customization options, but not to the same extent as Airmail. You can adjust swipe actions, change widgets, modify parts of the sidebar, and choose from a couple of different themes. This is sufficient for many users, so if customization is not a priority for you, Spark will likely meet your needs.
Airmail Excels in Service Integrations
A trend in productivity apps is the ability to integrate with other services, allowing data to seamlessly transfer between apps. For email apps, this generally means connecting to cloud storage services, calendars, or to-do lists. Airmail takes this to the next level, outshining Spark in this area.
Airmail integrates with Apple’s built-in calendars, reminders, and virtually every cloud storage service, in addition to a wide range of third-party apps such as Wunderlist, Fantastical, Trello, Evernote, Editorial, GitHub, and more. It also lets you open links in various third-party browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Mercury. Airmail even supports Workflow, enabling you to create custom actions that link Airmail to other apps.
When it comes to integrations, Spark falls short compared to Airmail. It does support the major cloud storage services, but Airmail goes further, connecting with a broader range of third-party apps like OneNote, Evernote, and Pocket.
Airmail definitely takes the lead in this category. If you rely on email to manage tasks, create to-do lists, link to notes, or perform similar functions, Airmail is the ideal app for you.
The Conclusion: Spark is Ideal for Most Users, but Airmail is the Power-User’s Tool
Spark and Airmail have enough differences that it’s clear which one suits you best. If you miss the simplicity of email apps like Mailbox and Sparrow, Spark is the perfect choice. For those who simply need an easy way to check and reply to emails, Spark will be more than sufficient. Plus, it’s free, so it’s easy to try it out and see if it meets your needs.
Airmail does have a $5 cost, but it’s well worth the price if you consider yourself a power-user. With its extensive customization options, it’s perfect for anyone who uses email extensively for work. If you spend a lot of time on email via your phone, Airmail significantly enhances that experience.
