Outlook for Windows was outlined under Microsoft's 'One Outlook' plan, with testing starting in 2022.[5] In September 2023, Microsoft started transitioning users of the previous apps to the new Outlook.[6] It was released on the Microsoft Store that month, although it remained in preview status for enterprise and education users.[7]
Features
Outlook for Windows is a web app based on the WebView2 runtime,[8][9] and builds on features found in Outlook on the web.[6] It still lacks some features from Microsoft Outlook (which Microsoft refers to as Classic Outlook in this context[10]), such as support for .pst files, which is due to be added at a future date.[11][7]
The free version includes advertising and allows IMAP accounts to be set up.[12] It does not support iCloud aliases, but it is able to work offline.[13][14]
Controversy
Outlook for Windows has attracted controversy surrounding the decision to synchronize emails from Non-Microsoft accounts with the Microsoft cloud, rather than downloading the email to local devices as previous Outlook clients have done. Concerns have been raised around the privacy implications of such a system.[15]
