Orchestra, Inc. has announced a reservation system for Mailbox, its task-orientated email app which we reported on earlier and which has received many pre-launch accolades from tech sites.

welcome to mailbox
Mailbox, which will initially be compatible only with Gmail, aims to keep your inbox clean by allowing you to use swipe gestures to quickly move each email out of your inbox by deleting it, archiving it, assigning it a category or - perhaps most interestingly - setting it to pop back into your inbox later.

mailbox2
When you sign up to reserve your copy of the free app, Orchestra sends you a text message with your reservation number, together with a code. Once the app is available for download, you'll need to enter your code to complete the download.

Business Insider observes that Orchestra has an interesting link to Apple: one of the company's software engineers is Adam Cue, son of Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, who is responsible for iCloud services - including email. Business Insider suggests that the relationship is likely to put Mailbox on Apple's radar as a potential acquisition, but it is unclear whether Apple has any actual interest in Orchestra's ideas for email management.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

rampancy Avatar
168 months ago
And how long will it be before this app goes the same way as Sparrow?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
petsounds Avatar
168 months ago
This is the most overhyped app I've ever seen. I do not think it looks very innovative or useful, all of your e-mail gets routed through their server, and it only works with gmail. Yet, every time Mailbox's developers sneeze the tech bloggers are all over it, tweeting rapturous praise.

And this "reservation system" seems very suspicious. Give them your phone number? I don't think so! This is a piece of software. Spin up more servers if you have too much demand. If they can't quickly respond to user load, their architecture was badly designed. The tech press should be slamming them for this, but again it's all fairy dust and rainbows.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigjnyc Avatar
168 months ago
There's no way I am giving these guys my phone number. what kind of a horse and pony show is this for an app? why not just launch it normally in the app store like any other app?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andrewweiser Avatar
168 months ago
Can't wait for this app to launch. I got in a while ago, I lucked out with #1999. Hopefully I'll get in on launch date.

I'd assume that the IMAP servers would be customizable. But I could be wrong.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
168 months ago
"u reserve a copy" since when is an app limited on the appstore and "on high demand" lol

sounds like data fishing to me
They don't ask for email, they ask for a telephone number and mine is prepaid so is there anything to loose??


-------

Does not work for where I am,got no SMS from them even though they say it's international.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Compile 'em all Avatar
168 months ago
Not sure if it will replace Mail app for me but I'm quite curious. Signed up yesterday #

----------

"u reserve a copy" since when is an app limited on the appstore and "on high demand" lol



sounds like data fishing to me

It is about being able to scale. With a reservation system they can scale properly since they can know exactly how many are using it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...