Mail Pilot 2 for iPhone and iPad review

February 6, 2015

Mail Pilot version 2.0 is now available for both iPhone and iPad and includes a lot of refinements and new features that make your inbox even easier to manage. With the addition of iCloud sync, better gestures, and enhanced navigation, Mail Pilot 2 transforms your emails into individual tasks so you can get things done even faster.

If you've used Mail Pilot prior to the new version, you'll still feel right at home. The overall experience is more refined, more mature even. Mail Pilot 2 supports a few different color schemes, all of which are tasteful and beautiful. The most important feature remains easy access to the inbox — you'e only ever one downward swipe away. Yes, I've accidentally triggered Notification Center a few times by swiping to close to the top, but overall its a productivity win.

Mail Pilot works much the same as other email apps that use scheduling and snoozing. You can archive mail, delete it, or save it for later. If you save it for later, you can choose a time and date for it to re-appear in your inbox. However, Mail Pilot takes things one step further and also allows you to create lists. It's not unique to Mail Pilot, but it's powerful none the less. With lists you can group emails from any account you have linked. All messages added to these lists then show up in one view, regardless of whether or not they're saved to the same email account.

The main difference between Mail Pilot and other "getting things done" type mail apps is the level of organization and structure. Since Mail Pilot literally turns your inbox into a todo list, it should mean that less will slip through the cracks. Until you actually mark a message as complete, it will remain in your inbox. Marking a message as complete moves in into the archive. If you want more actions, just hold down on a message and you have several options to flick messages away.

The good

Clean design that's easy to navigate
One swipe away from your inbox, no matter where you are
Great drafts support
Multiple ways to organize which makes Mail Pilot 2 even more flexible than ever
Attachment support for most used cloud storage services

The bad

If you're not precise when swiping down, you can unintentionally activate Notification Center
Bulk edit mode is difficult to find (you have to swipe down on the inbox message view to reveal a select button)
No native push notifications, background app refresh only
No oAuth support for Google

The bottom line

Mail Pilot 2 is a decent refinement to what was already a good product. The price point may be a barrier of entry for a lot of people but for anyone who wants complete control of every detail — and are okay sacrificing true push to get it, Mail Pilot may be worth it to them.

To celebrate the launch of Mail Pilot 2, Mindsense is discounting the price to $7.99, normally $9.99. You can also snag the Mac app for $14.99 right now, normally $19.99. If you pick up either, let us know in the comments what you think!