Say goodbye to Windows’ Mail and Calendar app and welcome the new Outlook for Windows

Next year, Microsoft will replace the default Mail and Calendar applications of its Windows operating system with the new Outlook for Windows application.

Mail and Calendar were default applications when Microsoft launched Windows 10 in 2015 and they have been essential apps for many users ever since. When Microsoft launched Windows 11 in late 2021, Mail and Calendar were part of the default application bundle as well.

Work on a new Outlook app for Windows began several years ago. Microsoft started to test the new Outlook for Windows application in May 2022, when it released it to Microsoft 365 Insiders.

Then in April 2023, Microsoft added a toggle to the then-default Outlook app for Windows that allowed users to try out the new Outlook app.  Microsoft did not pressure users into using the new Outlook application.

Windows users may download the Outlook for Windows application from the Microsoft Store.

A new message on the Microsoft 365 Message Center, reposted on the M365 Admin website, informs Microsoft 365 administrators about Microsoft’s plans regarding the new Outlook app for Windows.

According to the message, Microsoft plans to discontinue the Mail and Calendar apps of Windows. Starting September 2024, both applications will no longer be available for download or use. In the meantime, Mail and Calendar apps users may see tips that inform them about the upcoming changes to their applications.

Microsoft notes further that the new Outlook for Windows application will be usable by Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscribers, as well as users who use personal email accounts.  The latter may use the new Outlook app without a subscription to Microsoft 365 or Office 365.

Several changes were introduced to Outlook in 2023 already. Microsoft made the Outlook app for Mac devices free for all users and has introduced two-factor authentication capabilities into the mobile Outlook applications.

The discontinuation of Mail and Calendar is a major change. While the number of affected users is unclear, as Microsoft has never released public information about Mail and Calendar usage on Windows, it is certain that the change will affect more users than most previous removals of default applications on Windows.

Mail and Calendar users have more than a year to prepare for the day that will inevitably come.

Now You: do you use the Mail or Calendar app? (via Neowin)

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