Microsoft is building a new Outlook app for Windows and Mac powered by the web

Gandalf_The_Grey

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Future versions of Outlook will embrace the web as a universal platform across PC and Mac.

What you need to know
  • Microsoft is building a new Outlook client powered by the web.
  • The project is codenamed Monarch.
  • The effort is part of Microsoft's "One Outlook" vision detailed last year.
Microsoft is building a universal Outlook client for Windows and Mac that will also replace the default Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 when ready. This new client is codenamed Monarch and is based on the already available Outlook Web app available in a browser today.

Project Monarch is the end-goal for Microsoft's "One Outlook" vision, which aims to build a single Outlook client that works across PC, Mac, and the Web. Right now, Microsoft has a number of different Outlook clients for desktop, including Outlook Web, Outlook (Win32) for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Mail & Calendar on Windows 10.

Microsoft wants to replace the existing desktop clients with one app built with web technologies. The project will deliver Outlook as a single product, with the same user experience and codebase whether that be on Windows or Mac. It'll also have a much smaller footprint and be accessible to all users whether they're free Outlook consumers or commercial business customers.

I'm told the app will feature native OS integrations with support for things like offline storage, share targets, notifications, and more. I understand that it's one of Microsoft's goals to make the new Monarch client feel as native to the OS as possible while remaining universal across platforms by basing the app on the Outlook website.

Over a year away

Microsoft will begin to preview its new Monarch client towards the end of this year, with plans to replace the Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 sometime in 2022. Microsoft also wants to replace the legacy Win32 Outlook client, but that is a goal which appears to be much further out and will be a gradual process as the legacy client is a mammoth that is not easily replaced.

Those curious about how this experience will look and feel can install the Outlook Web app via your web browser today. Of course, that won't provide you with all the integrations Microsoft has planned for the Monarch client, but it does give a general idea of the kind of experiences you can expect to have when using it.

The Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 are in maintenance mode between now and when the Monarch client is ready to replace them. I'm told that the existing apps will get a minor UI update later this year to bring them in-line with other UI updates going on with Windows 10's big Sun Valley update, but the apps themselves will eventually be replaced by Monarch.

It's worth noting that these plans are still over a year away from coming into effect, so things may change between now and then. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on Monarch? Let us know in the comments.
 

amirr

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"Microsoft is building a universal Outlook client for Windows and Mac that will also replace the default Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 when ready."
By also, they mean that it will replace the Outlook 365 in Office 365 Desktop for PC?
 

Gandalf_The_Grey

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"Microsoft is building a universal Outlook client for Windows and Mac that will also replace the default Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 when ready."
By also, they mean that it will replace the Outlook 365 in Office 365 Desktop for PC?
Yes, but according to that article that will take even more time.
Microsoft also wants to replace the legacy Win32 Outlook client, but that is a goal which appears to be much further out and will be a gradual process as the legacy client is a mammoth that is not easily replaced.
 

Ink

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If it looks anything like the new Outlook for Mac app, then I'm happy, because it looks great.

Screen Shot 2021-01-04 at 16.09.18.png

Source (image): Microsoft’s new Outlook for Mac design launches in October
 

Gandalf_The_Grey

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I personally will stop using Outlook 365 for Windows PC, if they change it.
Yes, according to the article, the legacy client is a mammoth that is not easily replaced.
I hope the same.
I don't know if it's better and faster i have absolutely no problem with that. We will just have to wait (for a long time (two years)) and see.
 

Gandalf_The_Grey

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Vasudev

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If it looks anything like the new Outlook for Mac app, then I'm happy, because it looks great.

View attachment 252457
Source (image): Microsoft’s new Outlook for Mac design launches in October
If web assets are huge then I don't mind missing out on new UI since new UI might require faster connection which will be like loading in browser instead of standalone application which can load more quickly when you have tons of emails and attachments esp. company email.
 

Gandalf_The_Grey

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How could I not think of this quote :mad:
One Outlook to rule them all!
More written about this story here:
 

IkariGradius

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How could I not think of this quote :mad:

More written about this story here:
Because you are not yet Gandalf The White. You must defeat the Balrog first, then true cybersecurity wisdom will make more powerful than ever...
 

IkariGradius

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Gandalf_The_Grey

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Microsoft's 'One Outlook' email client may arrive in preview this spring
What you need to know
  • One Outlook (Project Monarch) is almost ready for preview.
  • It could arrive as soon as this March.
  • This is Microsoft's (eventual) replacement for Mail & Calendar on Windows 11.
ast year, Windows Central reported that Microsoft was working on a new Outlook client, codenamed "Monarch" and based on Microsoft's Outlook Web experience. Originally, Microsoft expected to begin shipping the app in preview in the summer of 2021, and replace the Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 11 later this year. For whatever reason, that initial preview never arrived.

Now, a report from ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley has shed some light on the whereabouts of Project Monarch, stating that the app is still in development and may arrive in preview as soon as this spring. Microsoft does still intend to replace the Mail & Calendar apps, though that may not happen this year. Instead, Microsoft will place the new Outlook client alongside the Mail & Calendar apps while users get used to the new experience.

Microsoft has been testing Monarch/One Outlook for several months internally with increasingly large rings of employees. My sources say the company is planning to make an official announcement about One Outlook this spring. Microsoft could be ready to get a test version of the new Outlook to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels by late March or early April 2022, my contacts say. By late July or August this year, Microsoft is hoping to be able to get it to Insiders in the Slow Channel, though this target date could slip until the fall, my contacts said.

Microsoft has been hard at work on its new One Outlook client for well over a year at this point. It's Microsoft's goal to consolidate and unify the Outlook app experiences on desktop with a single client that's powered by the web. Microsoft hopes that this new client will eventually replace Mail & Calendar as well as Outlook Win32, though that plan is much further out.

For now, we're getting close to the first preview release of One Outlook, which Foley states will roll out first to Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels in late March or early April. It'll then make its way to the Insider Slow Channel sometime in the summer.
 

Sammo

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I will probably still use Mailbird or eM Cient as I have lifetime licenses for both of them.
 

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