The first look at iOS 18.5 is finally here, and it makes it easier than ever to revert back to the old interface that Apple’s Mail app used to have. So if you’re annoyed by all the AI categorization and adding contact photos to Mail, you finally have the option to turn them off.
iOS 18.2 Changed Mail for the Worse
The future of Apple intelligence was exciting when iOS 18.2 first debuted. The update brought a lot of new functionality to Apple's AI-powered toolset, but it also introduced some unexpected features.
The design changes to the Mail app were one of the biggest complaints many others had with iOS 18.2. These changes include new AI-driven categories, as well as the introduction of contact photos and more.
Overall, it makes the Mail app look more like the Gmail app, which largely eliminates the reason people use the Mail app in the first place, since the way Gmail sorts emails is one of the reasons people stick with the Mail app on their Macs and iPhones. Apple has touted these changes as making it easier to organize your emails, but in reality, it just makes the app harder to use.
Luckily, you can always undo some of your changes by tapping the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and changing the view back to List View from the options there. You can also turn off Apple’s AI-driven Priority Inbox setting, which allows Apple’s intelligence to move emails it deems important to the top of your inbox.
However, you can’t undo one of the other big changes Apple made—the appearance of contact photos in the Mail list. This is one of the most annoying and least useful features, as many emails just have a blank photo with a letter in the middle.
iOS 18.5 Beta 1 Lets You Undo Apple's Annoying Mail Changes
Now, Apple will finally let us delete those pesky contact photos with an additional option in the drop-down menu. Right now, this change is only available in iOS 18.5 beta 1, but the feature is expected to be available on everyone’s iPhone when 18.5 releases later this year.
If you’re not running iOS 18.5, you can still undo some of Apple’s changes. Launch Mail, then tap the three-dot menu in the upper right. From the drop-down menu, select List View to remove categories. Then, uncheck Show Priority to turn off AI sorting. Alternatively, you can turn off Apple Intelligence entirely, saving battery life in the process.
If you've already updated to iOS 18.5 beta 1—or if you're reading this after the update has officially rolled out—you can follow the steps above and then uncheck Show Contact Photos to return Mail to its pre-18.2 update interface.
As someone who uses the Mail app because it doesn’t do the same nonsense as the Gmail app, the new features are a departure from what you’d expect from the app, so it’s nice to see Apple offer more ways to get back to the comfort of Mail’s old design.
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