Apple Mail and Flags

apple's mail icon, aligned right of the text it is next to.

For years now I’ve had a secret struggle with flag count in Apple Mail. Every year we get a new set of betas and every year I try again, hoping that I can reliably use flags in Apple Mail. However, before long, the count always gets off.

What I mean is I may show 17 flagged emails on iPhone, 6 on my Mac, and 22 on iPad. For whatever reason it has been very difficult for Apple to keep that flag count reliable and in sync. I hesitate to make this post so early but so far, throughout beta 1 and now beta 2 of this year’s operating system updates, Apple Mail’s flag count has remained consistent.

Assigning flags is a lot easier than moving emails to separate folders. Moreover, since I have a few different email accounts, flags can work across all of them very easily. So my idea is to use flags as a sort of triage mechanism — but only if I can rely upon the flag count to work.

This year, for the first time, so far so good.

Vision’s Future

Mark Gurman reports that Apple is looking at some interesting ideas for a more affordable visionOS headset, including tethering the device to an iPhone or a Mac. Tethering to an iPhone doesn’t seem much different from being connected to a battery, as it currently does. Tethering to a Mac, however, feels like an entirely different kettle of fish.

medium close up of vision pro device on its custom stand, in an apple retail store.

Photo by Mylo Kaye

If Apple is rethinking its Vision strategy, my two cents would be to make the currently shipping hardware more attractive:

  • More immersive content
  • More sports
  • More immersive concert footage
  • More environments
  • More productivity software and workflows

There is a lot of blue sky left for Vision and visionOS, but a more compelling software and content story needs to come first.

Turn Your Long Form Reading into a Podcast with Listen Later (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by Listen Later, one of my personal favorite uses for artificial intelligence. Listen Later is a service that converts stories and articles you send them to a personalized podcast feed using their AI-based (and very believable) reader. You can take that long-form article you’ve meant to read and listen to it on your next drive. It’s a great service. I’ve been traveling this week and I was able to catch up on a lot of my long form backlog via the Listen Later podcast. This is so much better than spending your down time on vapid social media or doom scrolling the news.

Their state-of-the-art AI not only narrates but brings life to the articles with a quality that I’d never heard before from an AI voice. You really should try it. Access your personalized podcast episodes on all devices through any podcast app. Stay connected with your preferred content anytime and anywhere, ensuring you never miss out on insightful articles.

Beyond articles, Listen Later can also convert emails and PDFs into podcasts. This feature is perfect for transforming work documents, newsletters, or any textual content into listenable formats.

Listen Later not only converts but can also translate content into multiple languages, making global content accessible and enjoyable in your preferred language.

Sign up for the service today, and you’ll get $2 of free credit. That’s an easy way to try it out for yourself at no risk. Go check it out.