Microsoft will soon release an update to install the new Outlook on Windows 10 PC. Forcing the use of the new Outlook on a PC will likely draw some criticism, but it is not possible to block the installation of the application. Microsoft has a support document at uninstalling new Outlook after installationhowever.
You only have a few weeks before the new Outlook is installed on your Windows 10 PC. The new Outlook will arrive automatically with a minor release of Windows 10 on January 28, 2025. The app will then be rolled out to all Windows 10 PCs as part of the Windows 10 Monthly Security Release, which will be available on February 11th. 2025.
With this update, the new Outlook will not replace the classic Outlook on PC. At least for now, people will be able to use the new Outlook and classic Outlook at the same time. Microsoft plans to replace classic Outlook at some point, but that will come later.
But the new Outlook isn’t just competing with classic Outlook. The new Outlook aims to replace the Mail and Calendar app, an area where many feel the new Outlook falls short.
👉 Read more: Microsoft is wrong: New Outlook for Windows isn’t ready for prime time
Below I’ll touch on the new Outlook compared to Mail and Calendar. But first, here’s a message sent through the M365 Message Center, archived MWorkspacePro (with some formatting changes for clarity):
M65 Message Center about Outlook
Message ID: MC976059
The new Outlook for Windows will be automatically installed on Windows 10 devices as part of the upcoming monthly security release.
When this happens:
Available in:
- Additional release of Windows 10 January 28, 2025
- Windows 10 Monthly Security Update February 11, 2025
How this will affect your organization:
The new Outlook exists as an installed application on the device. For example, you can find it in the Applications section of the Start menu. It does not replace existing (classic) Outlook or change any default configurations/user settings. Both (classic) Outlook and the new Outlook for Windows can run in parallel.
What you can do to prepare:
A guide to managing the installation of new Outlook can be found here: Block pre-installation of new Outlook on Windows.
Criticism of the new Outlook
The new Outlook replaces the Mail and Calendar app, which has been built into Windows for years, starting with Windows 10. The Mail and Calendar app is a native app that’s lightweight and looks at home in Windows 11 and Windows 10. In contrast, , the new Outlook is a web application.
New Outlook works Greatat least in most cases. But this is not a native application. It lacks the features available in Mail and Calendar, and it doesn’t look like a Windows app (because it isn’t). Our senior editor Zach Bowden shared his hatred of the new Outlook last year:
“I honestly believe that the new Outlook for Windows is the worst built-in OS email client of any OS platform currently on the market. Samsung Email is better than this. Gmail is better than this. Apple Mail is better than this. Why? Because all of these applications are built using native user interface frameworks that integrate with the operating systems they are built for.”
I agree with Bowden’s sentiments and have seen similar complaints in comments on articles about the new Outlook and elsewhere on the Internet. I don’t want to simply rehash his arguments from last March. In short, the app looks inferior, lacks features, and isn’t as fast or reliable as Mail & Calendar, at least in our usage.
Unfortunately, the new Outlook continues to be forced upon PCs in favor of the best app Microsoft has released for years.