Inserting images into emails on iPhones remains surprisingly cumbersome, disrupting workflows for professionals who frequently share visual content and casual users alike. The current process involves multiple steps through nested menus, creating unnecessary friction for what should be a simple task.

A Smarter Way to Handle Email Attachments

One approach could be developing an iOS keyboard extension specifically optimized for email image insertion. When activated in any email client, this specialized keyboard would display recent photos and albums in an easy-to-browse grid right above the standard keys. Users could then:

• Tap to insert images directly at the cursor position
• Select multiple photos at once for batch insertion
• Access quick editing tools for cropping or resizing
• Find frequently used templates like signatures or logos

The keyboard would intelligently compress images for email while maintaining quality, and revert to normal typing functionality when not inserting attachments. This solution would work within Apple's existing keyboard extension framework, requiring no cooperation from email app developers.

Who Would Benefit and Why

This approach could particularly help:

• Mobile professionals like real estate agents who need to quickly email property photos
• Business users regularly attaching standardized images like product shots
• Older adults who find current attachment menus confusing
• Social sharers who frequently email personal photos to friends and family

Unlike general keyboard apps offering image search, this would specialize purely in streamlining email workflows. It could maintain an advantage even if built-in email apps improve their attachment interfaces, by offering cross-app consistency and advanced features like cloud storage integration.

Potential Implementation Path

A staged rollout might begin with:

1. A basic free version handling single-image insertion with auto-compression
2. Mid-term additions like batch processing and cloud storage access
3. Eventually expanding to AI-assisted features like automatic alt-text generation

Revenue could come from premium features (batch processing, templates) or enterprise licensing for businesses needing customized branding options. The solution would need to carefully address privacy concerns through Apple's existing sandboxing for keyboard extensions, ensuring photo access only occurs when explicitly granted by users.

While specialized, this approach could significantly improve a daily task for millions of iPhone users who frequently email images, with the keyboard format providing a universally compatible solution across all email clients.