Finally! iOS Saves the Day: Send Emails Later with Apple Mail


With “Save the Weekend” we launched an app for BlackBerry back in 2010 that made it possible to delay sending emails. Since iOS 16, this convenient feature is finally available for the iPhone.

Send Emails Later for iPhone
With Cortado’s Save the Weekend we already offered an app for delayed sending of emails for the BlackBerry in 2010. Since iOS 16, sending emails later is now also possible with the iOS Mail app.

Save The Weekend: From a BlackBerry App to an iPhone Feature

Imitation as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. When we launched our app Save the Weekend back in November 2010(!), we were met with misunderstanding. Our idea was that employees who wanted to work on their emails outside of working hours could do so without disturbing other employees on the weekend. The fear that this would portray mobile devices as inefficient prevented broad adoption. Now in the times of home office and hybrid work, a somewhat strange view on things.

Our app, created for the BlackBerry at the time, was perfectly integrated with the BlackBerry mail system and simply sent out emails at the earliest possible time within working hours. Urgent emails could still be sent at once, of course.

Unfortunately, Save the Weekend then also disappeared with the BlackBerry. A port to iOS or Android was not possible, because such deep intervention in the mail apps was not provided for. So, there was nothing else to do but wait and see.

Now, almost 12 years later, the wait is over. With iOS 16, Apple’s mail system has a pretty accurate imitation of Save the Weekend with its time-delayed sending of mails. We just wish they adopted our deck chair icon too.

Time-Delayed Sending with Apple Mail on the iPhone: How It Works?

The delayed delivery feature in Apple Mail is as hidden as it is conveniently placed. All you have to do is hold down the “Send” button and the menu for delayed sending pops up. This provides, like Save the Weekend back then, fixed times for sending or lets you choose a sending time via the menu item Send Later.

The e-mails prepared for later sending then wait in the new mailbox Send Later. Here the e-mails can be viewed again at any time before the selected time for sending, edited or deleted, as necessary.

How to send Emails Later on iOS
Send Later on the iPhone: If you press the Send button in the iOS Mail app for a longer period, specific dates for later delivery are suggested; clicking Send Later takes you to the individual date choice (Figure 1). Here, the sending date can be set to the minute (Figure 2). The scheduled e-mail then appears in the Send Later mailbox (Figure 3).

We are happy that this useful feature is now available for the iPhone so make sure you share this post. This way we can all help prevent unnecessary interruptions to our free time.

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