Spark, love your email again?

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
As a result of the recent debacle with Bloop's Airmail iOS email client I was motivated to abandon both the iOS and macOS versions leaving me back in the situation of needing/wanting another email client with similar features. My other priority was to have the same app on macOS and iOS.

Not that Apple Mail is all that bad, it has improved markedly since I swapped to macOS Airmail years ago. I was overjoyed when Bloop released the iOS version and have been using it pretty much exclusively on all my devices ever since.

But in a knee jerk reaction of defiance to thier sudden decision to swap to a subscription based business model I uninstalled them all which brought me to revisit Readdle's Spark email client.

I had tried this app in the past but was resistant to their, then novel, concept of grouping incoming emails into categories. A "little" like the Google Gmail app it sorts incoming emails into groups. The inbox automatically sorts emails into personal, newsletter and notification boxes for easy processing, putting real emails from real people as top priority. Initially I found this confusing but not as confusing as Gmail which groups your inbox into Primary, Social, Promotional, Updates and Forums.

One click allows you to return to "Classic" view which I find myself doing less and less as I get the hang of this concept. For example when you read an email either in iOS it disappears into the "Seen" box allowing you to clear out new email quite quickly either pinning them (if important) for later or archiving them. The grouping also means I can concentrate on personal emails first before moving on to Notifications (like ones from this site) next knowing that I have at least viewed all the important emails rather than trying to sort them out from a long list of mixed emails containing newsletters, advertising and whatnot.

It is also really easy to create and use "smart" mailboxes for things like receipts and account statements accessible with one click from the inbox.

In a few short days I have cleared out nearly 800 old emails from my inbox, many unread and am really liking this app.

Ease of setup on macOS was simplified by telling me I needed an App Specific Password for my iCloud account and providing a link on the same notification to the Apple ID management page for the creation of one. Once the Primary email is registered in macOS and the other accounts added it auto fills your other accounts in the iOS versions.

Lastly it has a truly functional Apple Watch app which really works, even on my 38mm model.

So I wouldn't say I really love my emails but I have become more efficient with considerably less effort. The iOS version is free and as I had already downloaded the macOS version I'm not sure what it costs.

I am not associated with Readdle in any way, this post is just intended as an FYI for those who might be interested.
 

IWT


Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
10,218
Reaction score
2,175
Points
113
Location
Born Scotland. Worked all over UK. Live in Wales
Your Mac's Specs
M2 Max Studio Extra, 32GB memory, 4TB, Sonoma 14.4 Apple 5K Retina Studio Monitor
Thank you, Rod.

A genuinely interesting and useful post.

I looked at Spark quite recently, as I do with several app alternatives, trying to keep up to date with the options available out there.

Trouble is, I'm getting rather stuck in my ways and view "change" with caution. I was not always like this. In my younger days, I chased every new app on the block! Everybody has to go though that stage in life, I guess. Got me in all sorts of difficulty.

Although I liked what I saw of Spark from videos, tutorials and the like; I came to the conclusion that Apple's Mail does everything I want and in the way I want. It has improved immensely over the years.

So, I think I'll stick with what I know, what I like and also recognise my own limits.

That said, I very much enjoyed your comprehensive post. Thank you.

Ian
 
OP
Rod

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
Thank you Ian for your complimentary remarks.
Really I could have said a lot more but I think everyone will get the idea, this app is worth trying, IF you're in the market.
The core difference between all the other email clients I've used in the past and Spark is the way it prioritises personal email and seperates it from all the other emails.
In the past I've found notifications and newsletters cause so much clutter that I've missed important emails because they were "off the page".
Still I concur that Mail is much improved since I abandoned it years ago and I still use it, just not as my primary.
As for change, I like this quote:
"The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change -
Heraclitus


Sent from my iPhone using Mac-Forums
 
OP
Rod

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
I was bemoaning the one drawback with Spark that I had found in relation to no Spam Sieve compatibility. Spam Sieve was of course compatible with Apple Mail, Airmail and several other email clients but not Spark. I wrote to both the developers of Spark and Spam Sieve and although their replies were encouraging about future possibilities there seemed no immediate answer to the issue, that was until I received a second email from Spam Sieve suggesting I read the section in their very comprehensive instruction manual under Help.
In it there are seperate instructions for installing Spam Sieve for all of the compatible email apps and a section for "other".
In this section it describes how to set up for Apple Mail, why, because if you run Apple Mail in the background with Spam Sieve set up it will filter all of your selected spam for all email clients.
Yes you would have to "train" Spam Sieve using Mail but once trained none of the selected spam will appear in any other email app on your device.
Further to that, if you add Mail to Login Items and tick the box to hide it in Login Items you will not even be aware it is running.
This work around does require occasionally opening Mail to add new items to the spam list but it becomes less and less frequent over a fairly short time.
Given that Spam Sieve is a paid for app this is a good solution for anyone who has suddenly decided to change to or try an email client that is not compatible.
 

IWT


Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
10,218
Reaction score
2,175
Points
113
Location
Born Scotland. Worked all over UK. Live in Wales
Your Mac's Specs
M2 Max Studio Extra, 32GB memory, 4TB, Sonoma 14.4 Apple 5K Retina Studio Monitor
Brilliant info & advice, Rod. Thanks for that comprehensive report.

Ian
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
Nice tip Rod. I should have suspected that developer would have a trick or two up his sleeve.
 
OP
Rod

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
Yes, and quick to respond to queries too. Their instruction manual is really very comprehensive, they have obviously put a lot of work into this app and it does exactly what it says.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top