How to Send a New Email With iPhone Mail

Send emails from your iPhone as easily as from your computer

by
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
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Sam Costello
Updated on July 02, 2021

The iPhone makes it easy to use the most popular email services, including iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, Google, Yahoo, AOL, and Outlook. Thanks to built-in support for these email options, you can set up the Mail app to access email from all your accounts in one place. After you add your email accounts to the iPhone Mail app, you'll you'll want to start sending emails. Here's what you need to know.

Instructions in this article apply to the Mail app on iPhones running iOS 6 through iOS 14.

How to Send a New Email on iPhone

To send a new email message from the pre-installed Mail app, follow these steps:

  1. Tap the Mail app to open it.

  2. In the lower-right corner of the screen, tap the Compose icon. It's a square with a pencil in it. This opens a new, blank email.

    Settings icon, Compose button, Send button in iOS Mail

  3. Enter the email address of the person you're writing to in the To field in one of three ways:

    • Begin typing the recipient's name or address. If the person is in your address book, options appear. Tap the name and address you want to use.
    • Tap the + icon at the end of the To field. In your Contacts list, tap the person.
    • For recipients who are not in your Contacts list, type the full email address.

  4. Tap the Subject line and type a subject for the email.

  5. Tap the body of the email and write the message.

  6. When you're ready to send the message, tap Send.

Email providers that aren't preconfigured on the iPhone can be added to the Mail app manually. However, you must provide information from the provider, including the hostname and incoming and outgoing mail settings.

How to Use CC and BCC in the iPhone Mail App

Just like with desktop and web-based email programs, you can CC or BCC people on emails sent from your iPhone. To use either of these options, create a new email following the steps from the last section. After filling in the To line, tap the Cc/Bcc, From line to expand it to three fields.

Add a recipient to the CC or BCC fields in the same way that you add the original recipient in the To line.

If you have more than one email address configured on your phone, you can choose which one to send email from. Tap the From line to display a list of your email accounts. Tap the one you want to send the email from.

How to Use Siri to Send Email on iPhone

In addition to writing an email with the onscreen keyboard, you can use Siri to dictate an email.

Activate Siri by holding down your iPhone's Home button or Side button (depending on your model). Say "Send a new email" (or a similar phrase) or "Send a new email to [person's name]." Siri will ask for the subject line and then the body text of the email. Just speak what you want to say and, when it's done, send the message. Pretty easy!

If you've already got a new email open, and prefer to dictate the message instead of type it, you can do that, too. With the new email ready, tap into the body and then tap the microphone icon at the bottom right. Speak your email and wait for the iPhone to transcribe it. You may need to edit the text, depending on the accuracy.

How to Send Attachments in iPhone Mail

You can send attachments—documents, photos, videos, etc.—from the iPhone, just like from a desktop email program. On iPhones running iOS 6 or higher, you can send an email with a photo or video attachment right from the Mail app. Here's what to do:

  1. Open a new email and type the message.

  2. Tap and hold the message area of the email.

    Insert Photo or Video in iOS Mail

  3. When the magnifying glass or blue cursor (depending on your version of the iOS) appears, let go.

  4. In the pop-up menu, tap the right arrow to reveal additional choices.

  5. Tap Insert Photo or Video to open the Photos app. (Later versions of iOS include options like Add attachment and Insert drawing, which work in the same way.)

  6. Find and select the photo or video you want to attach.

  7. Tap Choose to attach the photo or video to the email message.

  8. With the attachment added to the email, tap Send.

Using Third-Party Email Provider Apps

If you aren't interested in using the Mail app, download apps developed by your preferred email provider and use those instead. Popular email provider apps in the App Store include:

If you're running iOS 14 or higher, you can even set third-party email apps as your default email program.

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