Back in the day when Apple first introduced the larger-sized iPhone with the iPhone 6 Plus they also introduced a landscape Mail app that kept the sidebar pinned on the left with the mail preview pane on the right. I did not own the iPhone 6 Plus (in all its bendiness) but I did own the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 7 Plus and with those phones, I *loved* that I could actually triage my email on an iPhone in landscape mode without having to pull out my MacBook or iPad.
Fast-forward to the iPhone X which was introduced alongside the iPhone 8 Plus. The iPhone 8 Plus retained the landscape Mail feature with he split screen of sidebar and preview pane, however, the iPhone X with its smaller screen switched to a "slide over" view. You could view the mail list, but as soon as you tapped on the email preview pane to scroll it, the sidebar slid off the screen (exit left). This was a pane if you were tapping between emails to quickly read them and delete them or shove them in the right folder because you had to keep summoning the preview pane.
I thought this change was specific to iPhone X because it had a smaller screen than iPhone 8 Plus, but alas, the next year the iPhone Xs Max was introduced with a larger screen, the slide-over disappearing sidebar remained with no way to pin it. The fixed sidebar did not return with iPhone 11 Pro Max nor any of the "Pro Max" iPhones that shipped with iOS versions through iOS 18.
Enter iOS 26. Today I happened to be holding my iPhone in landscape orientation when opening the Mail app -- something I had not done regularly since my trusty iPhone 7 Plus. When I tapped on the email to scroll through it I noticed the sidebar with the list of emails remained. I was stunned. Once again, I can triage my email efficiently on the go.
Mix in the new mail categorization feature and this is even better for doing email triage.
The only thing missing here is a control to move the sidebar off the screen for those who want it to dismiss or for the times you need to view your email preview pane in full screen. But I have been waiting for this change for so long, that I will take it the way it is and wait patiently for a full-screen preview pane option in an upcoming update.
Thank you Apple engineers for *finally* addressing this.
Fast-forward to the iPhone X which was introduced alongside the iPhone 8 Plus. The iPhone 8 Plus retained the landscape Mail feature with he split screen of sidebar and preview pane, however, the iPhone X with its smaller screen switched to a "slide over" view. You could view the mail list, but as soon as you tapped on the email preview pane to scroll it, the sidebar slid off the screen (exit left). This was a pane if you were tapping between emails to quickly read them and delete them or shove them in the right folder because you had to keep summoning the preview pane.
I thought this change was specific to iPhone X because it had a smaller screen than iPhone 8 Plus, but alas, the next year the iPhone Xs Max was introduced with a larger screen, the slide-over disappearing sidebar remained with no way to pin it. The fixed sidebar did not return with iPhone 11 Pro Max nor any of the "Pro Max" iPhones that shipped with iOS versions through iOS 18.
Enter iOS 26. Today I happened to be holding my iPhone in landscape orientation when opening the Mail app -- something I had not done regularly since my trusty iPhone 7 Plus. When I tapped on the email to scroll through it I noticed the sidebar with the list of emails remained. I was stunned. Once again, I can triage my email efficiently on the go.
Mix in the new mail categorization feature and this is even better for doing email triage.
The only thing missing here is a control to move the sidebar off the screen for those who want it to dismiss or for the times you need to view your email preview pane in full screen. But I have been waiting for this change for so long, that I will take it the way it is and wait patiently for a full-screen preview pane option in an upcoming update.
Thank you Apple engineers for *finally* addressing this.
