Group of Contacts on the iPhone

*Update 11/15/2009* There are now several apps that let you create and edit groups on the iPhone. Some examples are Groups (iTunes link), YoContacts (iTunes link), and iGroupMail (iTunes link)

To create a group of contacts for your iPhone, you must use the program Address Book that ships with every Mac. To create a group, open the progam, Click File, and select New Group:

Creating Groups in mac Address Book

A group is made up of multiple contacts, and only those contacts appear on screen when you select the group. For example, you could label all your family contacts under a group called “Family.” A group like this could come in handy if you wanted to make calls to all your family members in an emergency or to make an announcement.

Example of Groups Created with Address Book

 Groups created in the Mac program Address Book

For now, groups cannot be created using just the iPhone, nor can you remove a contact from a group. The only thing you can do with groups using the iPhone is create a new contact inside a group. For instance, if you navigate to the group “Work,” and create a new contact by tapping the “+” icon, that contact will be added to “Work.” Hopefully, the option to create and edit groups using the iPhone will appear in the future.


Helpful Link:

Discussion of groups at Apple.com.