Microsoft creates new web-powered Outlook app for Windows and Mac

Microsoft is in the process of creating a universal Outlook client for Windows and Mac that will also replace the default Mail and Calendar apps on Windows 10 when you’re ready. This new client is codenamed Monarch and is based on the Outlook web app already available in a browser today.

Project Monarch is the end goal of Microsoft’s “One Outlook” vision, which aims to create a single Outlook client that works on PC, Mac, and the web. Microsoft currently has a number of different Outlook clients for the desktop, including Outlook Web, Outlook (Win32) for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Mail & Calendar on Windows 10.

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

I’m told the app will feature native OS integrations with support for things like offline storage, share targets, notifications, etc. I understand that one of Microsoft’s goals is to make the new Monarch client feel as native to the operating system as possible while still being universal across all platforms by basing the app on the website Outlook.

More than a year

Microsoft will start previewing its new Monarch client towards the end of this year, with plans to replace Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 sometime in 2022. Microsoft also wants to replace the old Win32 Outlook client, but that’s a problem. a goal that appears to be much more distant and will be a gradual process as the inherited client is a mammoth who is not easily replaced.

Those who are curious about what this experience will look like can install the Outlook web app through your web browser today. Of course, this won’t give you all of the integrations Microsoft has intended for the Monarch client, but it does give a general idea of ​​the kind of experiences you can expect to experience when using it.

Mail and Calendar apps on Windows 10 are in maintenance mode between now and when the Monarch client is ready to replace them. I’m told existing apps will get a minor UI update later this year to align them with other UI updates on the way with the Windows 10 Sun Valley Big Update. , but the apps themselves will eventually be replaced by Monarch.

It should be noted that these plans are still over a year away from going into effect, so things may change by then. In the meantime, what do you think of Monarch? Let us know in the comments.