Getting Started With Conversational Email on Android With Spike

Describing itself as “the world’s first conversational email client,” Spike is a secure application that completely changes the way we interact with email messaging. Available on Android, iOS, Windows, and MacOS devices, Spike organizes your emails by sender in a way similar to chat conversations in modern instant messaging apps; saving you from the stress and time-wastage that comes with navigating through an endless clutter of emails.

In addition, Spike also brings essential work tools like notes and tasks and other useful features like voice calls and groups. With Spike, you don’t have to register for something new - just link your existing email account, and it automatically sorts your inbox.

This guide will help you get started with Spike for Android devices, providing you with a step-by-step approach to setting up your account, sending messages, linking other emails, managing Spike’s productivity tools, and navigating other cool features. Whether you're an expert or not, Spike offers an entirely fresh perspective on email management that can transform how you work and communicate.

Getting Started With Spike

Downloading and Installing Spike

You can download and install Spike from Google Play Store using the following steps:

1. Open the Google Play Store app on your Android device and search for "Spike Email" or "Spike Mail" in the search bar.

2. Once the app pops up, tap the "Install" button and wait for the app to download and install on your device

   

Setting Up Spike

On the first launch, Spike notifies you that you can use the app with your existing email, create a Spike account, or set up a Spike team space. Spike supports various types of email clients and gives easy options to set up using your Google or Microsoft account. Feel free to set up your e-mail in the following steps:

1. First, enter your email in the ‘email address’ box or tap on your provider of choice.

2. Once that is done, the app will request to connect to your email provider to gain permission to manage your emails, calendar, and contacts from the app.

3. Once you tap ‘Connect’, you will be led to your provider's webpage to enable permissions (Google is used here). Tap Allow to confirm.

Congratulations – you’re all set!

Navigating the Interface

Spike’s home screen looks something like this:

Your emails are auto-arranged and split into two feeds – Priority and Other. The ‘Priority’ shows important messages you receive, while Other refers to non-priority messages like social media notifications and promo offers.

1. The filter icon at the top right helps you filter between read and unread messages.

2. The search icon (also at the top right) allows you to search for people, messages, or files. You can only see results within a 60-day window in the free plan.

Bottom Menu:

1. The chat icon in the bottom menu shows your inbox with a subfolder called ‘Other’, to allow for non-priority messages, which you can easily reclassify.

2. The clock icon (beside the chat icon) leads to a unified calendar for all the accounts registered with Spike. In the calendar section, the plus icon allows you to create a new calendar event.

3. The blue pencil icon in the middle of the bottom menu allows you to compose and send an email, just like in traditional email applications.

4. The Groups icon gives options for creating Spike groups, which function similarly to group chats on instant messaging apps.

5. The people icon displays your email contacts. However, just like Search, it only displays contacts within a 60-day window if you use Spike’s free plan.

Sidebar

In Spike, the sidebar panel is an easy way to access traditional email features like Starred Mail, Drafts, Spam, and Trashed; unique ones like Notes and Tasks; and other as well as other actions like Settings, Help, and Upgrade Plan.

You can easily access the sidebar by swiping right on the home screen of the Spike app.

Using Spike

Sending Messages

To compose a new message, tap the blue pencil icon in the bottom menu (see Navigating The Interface section) to open the message composer.

In the composer, select a recipient from the list of email addresses on the screen or enter a new one by tapping the ‘Your Message’ box at the bottom.

Tapping it expands into a new screen where you can type out several details, including:

• email recipients

• a subject line (optional)

• the message body

In addition to this, Spike also allows you to easily send voice notes to any email (a unique feature), GIFs, images, instant captures, attachments, video calls, and more – simply by using the bottom toolbar.

Magic Message

Spike also provides Magic Message, an AI-integrated feature that allows you to generate an email by specifying a format, tone, and message length. You can find the Magic Message icon on the right-hand side of the toolbar.

You can use the Magic Message feature ten times on the free plan and upgrade to the paid plan for more access.

Chat Icons

With Spike, you can easily know whether your message has been read. Just like chats, Spike’s interface comes with indicators for each message you send – so you can easily know if your recipient has read your email or not.

The green tick indicator means your message was sent.

The green eye indicator means the recipient has seen the message.

Pinning Messages

Spike allows you to pin a message, a note, or a task to the top of your inbox to ensure easy accessibility. It helps you quickly see older but important notes, tasks, and message threads without having to look for them

· Swipe left on the message, task, or note to reveal the More option.

· Tap on the Pin icon,

Conversation Modes in Spike

Spike offers three conversational modes, accessible via the Settings section:

• People Mode organizes your emails by contact/sender. I highly recommend this method as it reduces the messiness and stress associated with traditional e-mail arrangement

• Inbox Mode mimics traditional email messaging

• Subject Mode organizes each thread by subject line.

To toggle between these modes, you can go to Settings, which is accessible via the sidebar.

Groups

Spike supports group creation - a feature that acts as a collaborative workspace for teams and changes complicated email chains between team members into conversational form. Anyone can join a Spike group, no matter what your email client is.

To create a group on Spike app for mobile:

• Click on the blue pencil icon to open the message composer, and click on Create Group

• You can also click on the group icon in the bottom menu to create a group

Connecting your calendar to Spike

Spike’s calendar syncs to the default Google calendar for your mobile phone and email account once permissions are allowed.

You can add a new event to the calendar in the following steps:

• Tap on the clock icon in the bottom bar. This takes you to the calendar section.

• Tap the blue plus button in the middle of the bottom bar to create a new event.

• You will be directed to the add events section associated with your default calendar (usually Google Calendar)

Notes and Tasks

Spike also has built-in productivity features like Notes and Tasks to help you on the go, creating a digital workspace without leaving the app.

There are two ways you can access the Notes or Tasks features;

• By swiping right to open the sidebar (see Sidebar section) and selecting either Notes or Tasks.

• Tapping the blue pencil icon on the home screen and selecting Create Note or Create Task in the New Message section.

Both the Notes and the Tasks sections have options for easy formatting, attachment, and Magic Message options.

Notes section

Tasks section

Adding another account

You can easily add another email account to Spike

• On the Spike home screen, swipe right to access the sidebar and tap on Add Account

• Enter your email in the Email Address box, and tap Continue

Note: This feature is only available to users with upgraded plans.

Settings and Customization

Spike offers several customization features which can be easily accessed via the Settings option in the sidebar.

You can access the Settings option in the sidebar by tapping the gear icon in the top right or the Settings section in the sidebar menu.

Here, you can customize several features in sections:

• Conversation arrangement, which organizes your emails by Inbox, Subject, or People.

• Messaging, which allows you to adjust priority messages, set quick swipe actions, and quick messages.

• Appearance, where you can choose the theme, enable color coding for different email accounts, and change language and text size.

• Utilities, where you can:

  • Enable or disable fingerprint authentication,

  • Choose to open web links internally or externally,

  • Choose which widgets to make visible

  • Select contacts associated with your email accounts

  • Change calendar settings, enable translate features,

  • Adjust other features in the Advanced section.

Conclusion

Spike is a powerful email app that offers a fresh, modern, conversational approach to managing your emails. Its unique features, the presence of tools like tasks and notes, as well as the addition of Generative AI tools like Magic Message; makes it a really good choice for anyone looking to combine a seamless email experience into an already busy workflow.

What are you waiting for? Get started with Spike today!