Apple restores the Select button in the Mail app in the latest iOS 26 beta

Fifth betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 bring back a dedicated Select button to select multiple messages at once and mark them as read, archive or delete.

In earlier betas, this option was buried inside the … (ellipsis) menu, and even many longtime Mail users (this author included) have missed it completely.

For many people who complained about it, the change represented an unnecessary regression in usability because you first had to tap the menu and then choose the Select option every time you wanted to select multiple email messages.

Apple restores the Select button in the Mail app

In iOS and iPadOS 26 beta 5, the Select button has been reinstated in the top-right corner of the app when browsing your mailboxes.

Power users may point out that one doesn’t even need to tap the button because iOS has provided a secret multi-selection gesture for years now; just swipe down with two fingers to quickly select multiple email messages. This handy gesture immediately invokes the editing mode. Even better, it works in any list-based apps that support multi-item selections, such as Notes and Messages, for example.

Other changes in response to beta feedback

The latest betas bring other changes in response to feedback from beta testers. In iOS and iPadOS 26 beta 5, there’s a new toggle in the camera settings to revert the scroll direction when swiping to change shooting modes in the Camera app.

It’s off by default, but you can turn it on to revert the scrolling direction when swiping to change shooting modes in the Camera app instead of the glass loupe at the bottom following the direction of your swipes. Some changes have already proved controversial, such as ditching the classic skeuomorphic Macintosh HD icon for a generic flash storage icon in macOS Tahoe 26 beta 5.

Similar settings to revert some of the Liquid Design changes exist in the Safari and Phone apps. In the Phone app, you can switch to the classic layout by tapping the menu in the top-right corner. And in Safari, you can bring back the old address bar in the Tabs section found in Settings > Safari. By default, Safari uses the new compact bar design, which hides the buttons for bookmarks, open tabs and sharing options behind a three-dotted menu, but now you can override this change.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/06/apple-ios-26-mail-app-select-button-restored/