Restore Minimalist Apple Mail Interface Layout on iPhone
The Mail app on your iPhone got a significant makeover in iOS 18.2. All of a sudden, you had an AI-driven Priority mailbox, smart Categories up top, and an icon from every sender making an appearance. For long-time Mail app users on the iPhone, it's a major switch, but the benefits might not be immediately apparent.
The most questionable feature here is the contact photos, as most icons are just generic stock Apple ones. Even when you receive an email from Lifehacker or any other email address, you won't see the actual website logo—something that's common when you visit the website through your browser. This issue seems to have caught Apple's attention, and in iOS 18.5, they're adding a toggle to remove contact photos altogether. Best of all, you won't need to venture deep into Settings to toggle this off.
Currently, iOS 18.5 is only available as a developer beta, but it should be accessible as a public beta soon. For the risk-takers, you can now download the iOS developer beta. However, I'd usually advise against it as developer betas are more likely to include early bugs and issues. These glitches are typically resolved by the time the public beta arrives. The public beta is also easier to install and more stable. If you're keen to get rid of contact photos, I'd suggest waiting for the 18.5 public beta or the upcoming stable release, which is expected to be released around early-to-mid May.
Disabling Contact Photos in the Mail app
To eliminate contact photos, launch the Mail app and tap the three-dot Menu button at the top right corner of your inbox. Uncheck the Show Contact Photos option, and voila! The column of icons on the left edge will vanish, leaving the email contents to take up all available space. A nostalgic trip, wouldn't you agree?
Alternatively, you can use the Settings app to disable this feature. This option has been available since iOS 18.2, but it's a bit hidden. Go to Apps > Mail in Settings and disable the Show Contact Photos option.
Streamlining Your Mail App: Ditching AI Features
Once you've turned off contact photos, you might still find a few AI features lingering. Specifically, the Categories View and the Priority Mail section.
Luckily, both features can be disabled from the same Menu popup. You don't even need to be running iOS 18.5 to access these options. Any iPhone running iOS 18.2 or higher will show these options in the menu. To simplify your inbox, switch to List View to get rid of the Categories section, and then uncheck Show Priority to remove Priority Mail.
If you're curious about learning more about removing all AI-related features in the Mail app, check out our in-depth guide for all the details you need.
In iOS 18.5, Apple plans to add a toggle to remove contact photos from the Mail app, which is currently only available as a developer beta. To eliminate contact photos in the Mail app right away, tap the three-dot Menu button at the top right corner of the inbox, uncheck the Show Contact Photos option. If you wish to ditch other AI features like Categories View and Priority Mail, you can do so on any iPhone running iOS 18.2 or higher by switching to List View to remove Categories and unchecking Show Priority to remove Priority Mail, all from the same Menu popup.
For additional information about removing all AI-related features in the Mail app, you can refer to our in-depth guide.
