Microsoft is forcefully upgrading users to the new Outlook app for Windows before it imminently replaces Mail & Calendar apps to "become familiar with the new and improved experience"
What you need to know
Microsoft is trying to get more users to transition from the native Mail & Calendar apps to the new Outlook on Windows.
The tech giant is set to replace the Windows Mail and Calendar with the new Outlook app.
Several users have complained about the new platform's look and feel, as well as its performance and feature parity difference with the native client.
Some users also complained that they couldn't access the new Outlook app because they didn't have Microsoft Edge installed on their PCs.
"I genuinely think the new Outlook for Windows is the worst built-in OS email client of any OS platform on the market right now," says our Senior Editor, Zac Bowden, while explaining why he hates the new Outlook for Windows and still prefers the fast and lightweight old Windows Mail & Calendar apps. "Samsung Email is better than this. Gmail is better than this. Apple Mail is better than this. Why? Because all of those apps are built using native UI frameworks that integrate with the OSs they're built for."
As you might already know, Microsoft is set to remove the Mail & Calendar apps from the Microsoft Store later this year. Windows 11 shipped in 2021 and despite Microsoft's efforts to enhance and improve its user experience with a plethora of nifty features and Copilot AI, its global market share still struggles. This can be attributed to the operating system's stringent minimum requirements to run on a PC alongside some "design flaws" pointed out by several users.
This has resulted in Microsoft using annoying full-screen and persistent pop-up ads to entice users to upgrade to Windows 11. According to a report by Windows Latest, the tech giant is seemingly using the same approach to get users to transition from the Mail & Calendar apps to the new Outlook app for Windows.
Per the outlet, Microsoft is forcefully upgrading users from the old Mail & Calendar apps to the new Outlook app. Some users have reportedly seen a pop-up notification when launching the Mail & Calendar apps on their devices highlighting several changes to Mail. Strangely enough, the pop-up disappears within a moment's notice, thus making it difficult for users to go through the entire notification.
The pop-up notification indicates that the Mail and Calendar apps are changing and that the unified app is Outlook. I checked this out and launched the Mail & Calendar apps on my Windows 11 PC. Admittedly, I've been using the new Outlook app for Windows since it shipped in preview, so this is the first time I'm using the Mail app in a long time.
Upon launching the Mail app, I immediately saw a pop notification with the following message:
"Windows Mail and Calendar are becoming the new Outlook for Windows. We recommend switching now so you can become familiar with the new and improved experience."
The pop-up message featured two options/buttons: Continue and Not Now. The first option will transition you to the new Outlook app for Windows, whereas the latter lets me retain the Mail and Calendar apps.
Why don't you try the new Outlook app for Windows?
I also noticed a "try the new Outlook" toggle in the top-right corner of the Mail app. But unlike the accounts highlighted above about Microsoft forcing users to upgrade to the new Outlook app, clicking the Not Now button closed the pop-up message, allowing me to interact with the platform as I normally would.
I decided to turn on the Try the new Outlook, which immediately closed the Mail app. I waited for two minutes and tried to launch the native client once again, interestingly the new Outlook app opened instead. My assumption here is that opting to try the new Outlook app automatically downloads it from the Microsoft Store if you don't have it installed on your device already.
I clicked the New Outlook toggle to revert to the native Mail client. The process was almost instantaneous, though I was momentarily redirected to a form of Feedback Hub for the new Outlook app. Microsoft asked why I wanted to switch back and presented me with the following reasons: Something isn't working, too slow, missing functionality, and more.
There's also a text field at the bottom where you can share more insights with Microsoft regarding your experience with the new Outlook app for Windows. The native Mail app also features a new banner indicating that the new Outlook is set to replace Windows Mail and Calendar in 2024.
Strangely enough, I was redirected to the new Outlook despite turning off the "try the new Outlook" toggle. I saw a pop-up message indicating I was being switched to the new Outlook when launching my native Mail app.
It's apparent that Microsoft wants more users to try the new Outlook, and it's collecting feedback from users who want to switch back to the native Mail client, which it might use to improve the experience. Luckily, you can still wiggle your way around this using the toggle.
Outlook (Preview) | Microsoft Store
The new Outlook app for Windows brings a whole new redesign and is faster and lighter than the previous Mail app for Windows. Users can skip the A/B testing and download it from the Microsoft Store directly.
