Starting next year, Microsoft will replace its operating system's default Mail and Calendar apps with the new application Outlook for Windows.
Mail and Calendar were the default apps when Microsoft launched Windows 10 in 2015, and since then they've been essential apps for many users. When Microsoft released Windows 11 in late 2021, the same Mail and Calendar apps were also part of the default app suite.
Work on a new Outlook app for Windows began several years ago. Microsoft started testing the new Outlook app for Windows in May 2022, when it released it to Microsoft 365 Insiders.
Then, in April 2023, Microsoft added an option to the then-default Outlook app for Windows that allowed users to try out the new Outlook app. Microsoft didn't (strangely) push users to use the new Outlook app.
Windows users can download Outlook for Windows from Microsoft Store.
A new message in the Microsoft 365 Message Center informs Microsoft 365 administrators of Microsoft's plans with the new Outlook app for Windows.
According to the message, Microsoft plans to discontinue the Windows Mail and Calendar apps. As of September 2024, both apps will no longer be available to download or use. In the meantime, users of the Mail and Calendar apps will notice messages informing them of upcoming changes to their apps.
Microsoft says the new Outlook app for Windows will be available to subscribers of Microsoft 365 or Office 365, as well as from users using personal email accounts. The latter will be able to use the new Outlook application without a subscription to Microsoft 365 or Office 365.
Discontinuing the Mail and Calendar apps is a major change, and those who use them should prepare for the inevitable.
