Apple’s Mail app is getting useful updates in iOS 27, and Apple is making big strides in search and introducing new AI features.
Search
iOS 27 has an improved search system that extends to the Mail app. Instead of coming up with results based on keywords and recency, mail app search ranks results by relevance and purpose. Search results from Mail are more relevant than ever, so you find what you’re looking for.
If you search for “Sprouts” because you want to find a recent order, it will show your order before it shows any sales emails you may have from the same seller.
Siri AI
The Mail app has a built-in “Ask Siri” feature. Long press on any email and you can ask Siri to summarize, find an item in the email, track a package, find a flight number, save a photo, and more.
Once you get the answer, you can swipe down to enter the Siri interface to ask follow-up questions. Conversations are included in the Siri app.
Siri can also complete tasks in the Mail app, such as deleting all emails from a specific sender or adding information from an email to your Reminders list.
The Mail app has a text interface with Siri above the keyboard, which you can tap for typing assistance. Siri can compose an email for you, check an email you’ve written, help you rewrite an email, change the style of an email, or give you writing tips.
Write with Siri can match your typical writing style, punctuation, and tone, so emails sound like you and like AI.
Your iPhone also now flags both typos and language errors while typing.
Smart Answer
The Smart Answers your iPhone suggests to you are now enabled for your writing style, meaning one-tap suggestions sound like things you might write.
Context Suggestions
The contextual suggestions you see at the top of the Mail app are now available in third-party apps, and Apple has revamped the design.
An email that includes a flight schedule or restaurant reservation has a one-tap button to add it to the Calendar app. An email with directions may allow you to see the route in Maps, and emails with tracking information can be tracked through the Wallet app.
Call Context
Call Context is a feature that works between the Mail app and the Phone app. When you call a business such as an airline or retailer where you have a relevant email, the Phone app will display information extracted from that email.
You can see it showing the flight reservation number, or the phone order number with the seller. Call Context works on the device, checking who is calling and not making a call.
Performance Improvement
Messages in Mail load faster, the search index is more reliable, and unread badges between platforms like iOS and macOS sync more reliably. Apple has also updated the formatting of the list.
Requirements
Mail app search enhancements are available on all iPhones running iOS 27, but AI features such as Siri AI integration, Write with Siri, Call Context, and Context Suggestions require an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence.
Siri AI is not available in the European Union or China, and Contextual Suggestions are only in English at launch.