September 30, 2023

Final month, Microsoft introduced after which briefly paused its plans to exchange the Mail and Calendar apps in Home windows with the brand new Outlook. Properly, its reevaluation is finished, and the software program big is pushing ahead.

“The Mail and Calendar apps for Home windows are being changed with the brand new Outlook for Home windows,” a July 20 replace to the unique announcement notes. “On the finish of 2024, we might be ending help for the Mail and Calendar apps for Home windows. The brand new Outlook for Home windows helps individuals be extra productive and accountable for their inbox. We’re enthusiastic about this variation that can present customers with nice new productiveness options akin to Microsoft Loop, message reminders, in addition to file and folks options whereas composing an electronic mail. The brand new Outlook additionally affords extra methods to remain in management with drag and drop emails as duties, work hours and placement, pinning and snoozing messages, and lots of others.”

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I’m shocked that is in any manner controversial, given how lackluster the Home windows Mail app is, specifically. However when Microsoft introduced that it could change the Mail and Calendar apps in Home windows with the brand new Outlook, it acquired sufficient detrimental suggestions that it shortly pushed pause on the transition and stated it could “reevaluate” the timing and implementation of this variation.

That wording recommended that it could ultimately push ahead with its plans regardless. And searching on the new announcement, we will see that the one significant (if obscure) change to the schedule is that the transition will now happen “on the finish of 2024” as an alternative of in September 2024. However Microsoft will start auto-migrating Mail and Calendar customers to the brand new Outlook in late August 2024, with the non permanent choice to return.

Additionally, those that had hoped that Microsoft may enable them to proceed utilizing Mail and Calendar—because the software program big has executed with some older variations of in-box apps, just like the Photographs Legacy app—might be disillusioned: Microsoft will finish help for Mail and Calendar in late 2024 and would require customers emigrate to the brand new Outlook for Home windows. (Or to no matter mail/calendar purchasers they like.)