Readdle's Spark has just become an even better alternative to Mailbox
Earlier this week, Dropbox announced that it would be shutting down Mailbox, the pioneering gesture-based email app that it acquired in March 2013, on Feb. 26, 2016.
If you’ve been using Mailbox, you’re probably already on the lookout for an alternative app. Well, if you ask us here on AppAdvice, you probably need not look further than Spark, the popular email app created by Scanner Pro and PDF Expert developer Readdle.
As it happens, Readdle has just released a major update to Spark “for all those who are looking for a new email client.” And for existing Readdle users like me, the update is very much a welcome one, as it introduces new ways of handling email snoozes and attachments.
What a snooze-fest
First and foremost, the new version of Spark introduces customizable snoozes, allowing you to adjust the times at which you’d like the emails you want to act on later to return to your inbox.
To customize your snooze settings, swipe on an email on your inbox to snooze it and tap the new Customize button on the snooze menu. You can then select which snoozes to enable (from “Later Today” to “In a Month”) and set the interval or time for a specific snooze (e.g. in 5 hours for “Later Today” or at 10 a.m. for “In a Month”).
If you can’t see the video embedded above, please click here.
You can now also choose to receive a notification when a snoozed email is moved back to your inbox. Just turn on the new Alert option on the snooze menu.
Don’t get so attached
More often than not, mobile email attachments take the form of images. It’s a smart move on Readdle’s part, then, to add a dedicated button for attaching images. Just tap the picture button to attach an image from your Photos library or take a new photo to attach with the camera.
What’s more, when attaching an image from Photos, you’ll now see bigger previews and be able to choose the size in which to send the image.
The latest update to Spark also lets you easily switch between attaching an actual file from or just sending a link to it on Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. After tapping the paper clip button on the compose screen and selecting the file you want to share, tap the upper right corner to choose whether to send it as an actual attachment or send its share URL only.
If you can’t see the video embedded above, please click here.
The new version of Spark is available now on the App Store for free.
Compatible with iOS 8.3 or later, the app is designed for iPhone and iPod touch, with support for Apple Watch. Native iPad support is, according to Readdle, “coming soon.”
Spark works with email accounts on Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Outlook, IMAP, and Exchange, support for which was added to the app through its previous update.
Need another reason to switch to or continue using Spark? Apple has just included the app among its “Best of the App Store” for 2015.
