Finally, iOS 13 can create reminders from Mail

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iOS 13's new Reminders app.
iOS 13's new Reminders app.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

We already know that Apple has completely made over the Reminders app in iOS 13, adding a new, more powerful layout, and some excellent quick-entry tools so you don’t have to tap the screen like a million times just to remember to take out the trash when you get home.

But Reminders has also gotten its virtual claws deeper into the rest of iOS. Today we’ll see two great integrations that you might not have heard about yet.

Create Reminders from Mail

Create a reminder right from the Mail app.
Create a reminder right from the Mail app.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Of all the apps that can create reminders, Mail is the one I’m mostly likely to use. And yet until now, the only way create a reminder from an email has been to talk to Siri, saying “Remind me about this.” That phrase adds the current email as a reminder, complete with a link back to that email. But that was it.

This is the rather sparse result.
This is the rather sparse result.
Photo: Cult of Mac

In iOS 13, you can select text in any email, tap to share, and then send it to the Reminders app, all without having to speak out loud in public. This also works in Safari, in addition to the current possibility of sharing via Safari’s main share button.

Right now, what happens is that the new reminder is titled with the subject line of the email, and there’s a Mail icon that you can tap to open the original email (or web page, in the case of Safari). Your selected text is also actually copied to the reminder, a late (and welcome) addition since the early iOS 13 betas.

Multiple reminders in Siri

Spotlight's new Ask Siri option.
Spotlight’s new Ask Siri option.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Finally, you can add multiple reminders to Siri in one go. Previously, if you said something like “Hey Siri, add duct tape, plastic sheeting, and leather gloves to my shopping list,” then you’d have gotten a single entry in your shopping list with all three items.

Two out of three isn't bad.
Two out of three isn’t bad.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Now, if you say the same thing, you’ll get separate entries for each item. In theory, anyway. And you can also type the list into the Spotlight search bar, and tap the new Ask Siri button to use Siri without speaking.

Reminders in iOS 13 and iPadOS

Reminders is much, much better in iOS 13. Previously, I used Reminders pretty much exclusively for shopping lists, or to remind me to water the cat when I get home.

In iOS 13, Reminders is way more useful, because a) it’s more powerful and b) it’s a lot easier to use. You no longer forget the task before you’ve managed to add it to the list. In one way that’s great. In another, it’s ridiculous that it’s taken so long to get here.

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