The New Outlook for Windows App: 4 Key Details You Need to Know

The new Outlook is available as a finished version starting in August 2024. New PCs with the latest installation of Windows 11 (Windows 11 24H2) will receive the new Outlook as an alternative to the Windows Mail and Windows Calendar apps.

In addition, users who use classic Outlook can switch to the new Outlook at any time using the slider in the upper right corner. As a Windows 10/11 user, you can use the new Outlook for free if you have a Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365 license. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Thomas Joos

Thomas Joos

Thomas Joos

In the future, there will be two different versions of Microsoft Outlook: the previous Outlook from Microsoft Office, and Microsoft 365 Apps, which will be retained for the next few years and will be called “classic Outlook.” The new Outlook is an alternative to Windows Mail and Windows Calendar for end users running Windows 10/11.

Microsoft has announced that it will retire the old UWP-based Mail app in September 2024, forcing users to use the new Outlook app. Personal users who work with older programs will have to make the switch as the old programs will be replaced.

The new Outlook user interface is based on WebView2 – meaning the Outlook website runs in a native Windows window. This sometimes leads to a cluttered and inefficient user experience. The app is slower than the classic version and has annoying ads, some of which are disguised as emails.

Microsoft routes all emails through its servers, including login information.

The new Outlook is more like a web app in terms of functionality and interface. In addition to Microsoft email accounts, accounts from third-party providers can also be connected to the new Outlook. However, all emails from providers are usually routed through Microsoft servers, including mailbox logins.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a Microsoft mailbox, such as Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com, or a mailbox from another provider, such as Google.

Anyone who doesn’t want that experience shouldn’t use the new Outlook. However, with Microsoft planning to remove the discontinued Windows Mail and Windows Calendar apps from Windows by the end of 2024, alternatives need to be found.

The most well-known alternative is Mozilla Thunderbird. Data protection concerns make the situation even worse, as Microsoft shares data with over 770 third-party companies.

IDG

IDG

IDG

Microsoft already allows you to connect multiple email accounts, including Microsoft 365/Exchange Online, Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and manually configurable IMAP4/POP3 connections. Expect more providers to be added here, and of course Exchange on-premises.

Professionals can decide for themselves when to use the new Outlook

Corporate customers can continue to work with classic Outlook for several more years without any problems. The current plan is to support the new Outlook until 2029. Although it is already possible to connect mailboxes in the new Outlook to Exchange Online, it is not yet possible to connect locally installed Exchange servers. According to Microsoft, however, this is to change very soon, probably at the latest with the release of the new Exchange version Exchange Server SE (Subscription Edition).

Company administrators and even experienced users can use policies to prevent other users of the computer from activating the new Outlook. If this block is not active, any user can change their Outlook installation using the slider Test the new Outlook. You can undo this step, but it may result in data loss. In our tests, the switch worked several times without any problems, but it’s hard to say for sure whether this is the case everywhere.

Thomas Joos

Thomas Joos

Thomas Joos

You can also switch back using the slider. Both versions of Outlook cannot be used in parallel, at least not without a lot of effort.

The new Outlook is still in development: not everything works yet

Over the past few months, the development of features in the new Outlook has become obvious. Microsoft is regularly expanding the range of features, but that doesn’t change the fact that many features are still missing. For example, there is no support for PST files or the ability to import or export data. Anyone who needs these features should wait until Microsoft integrates them into the new Outlook. It is currently unknown when this will happen, and it is also not certain whether all the features from the classic Outlook will be included in the new Outlook.

There are many settings available in the classic Outlook options, but they are missing in the new Outlook. One example is the Trust Center, where you can make many security settings. External programs, APIs, and tools will likely not work with the new Outlook either. Many registry settings, such as signatures, profiles, and other settings that you could previously export and import, no longer work with the new Outlook.

Thomas Joos

Thomas Joos

Thomas Joos

Users also often lack the ability to drag and drop attachments onto the desktop, create and manage quick blocks, and easily use QuickSteps and email rules. Options to resend emails, forward contacts via business card, or export emails as PST files are either no longer available or are much more cumbersome.

Another issue is that the new Outlook no longer allows you to merge multiple mailboxes into one inbox, making it much more difficult to manage multiple email accounts.

These limitations, as well as the lack of intuitive user interface customization that was possible in the old version of Outlook, left many users frustrated and questioned the viability of a new version of Outlook in the future.