Microsoft announced consumers can use Outlook for free on macOS with no Microsoft 365 subscription or license. Mac users can now add Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo! or IMAP accounts in Outlook on macOS.
The Redmond, Wash. tech giant says the new Outlook for Mac app complements Outlook for iOS – giving people a consistent, reliable, and powerful experience that brings the best-in-class experience of Outlook into the Apple ecosystem that so many love.
With Outlook, users will get a modern and native app designed and optimized for macOS. The new Outlook is optimized for Apple Silicon, of which the company says boasts snappy performance and faster sync speeds than previous versions.
According to Microsoft, Outlook makes it easy to manage one’s day, triage email, read newsletters, accept invitations and much more. One of Outlook’s strengths is helping users manage multiple accounts in a single app. Microsoft supports most personal email providers and provides features, such as viewing all one’s inboxes at once and an all-mailbox search to make managing multiple email accounts a breeze. When users log into Outlook with a personal email account, they get enterprise-grade security, with secure sign-on to authenticate and protect their identity.
Additional Outlook for Mac Features Coming Soon
To help users stay on top of their email and calendar while using other apps, they can view their agenda using a widget and see reminders in the Notification Center. Microsoft says it is working on creating a peek of upcoming calendar events in the Menu Bar.
The company is also working on a new Handoff feature, where users can pick up tasks where they left off between iOS and Mac devices.
The new Outlook Profiles (coming soon) will allow users to connect email accounts to Apple’s Focus experience. With Outlook Profiles, users won’t get unwanted notifications at the wrong time so they can stay focused on that important work email, with no distractions from their personal email. For those with multiple accounts, the all-accounts view lets users manage all their inboxes at once, without having to switch back and forth.
Outlook also has more options for keeping important emails front and center. The Focused Inbox automatically sorts important from non-important messages so users can easily find them with a toggle above the message list and add frequently used folders to Favorites to find them easily. Outlook also gives users the option to prioritize messages how they like. Users can pin messages in their inbox to keep them at the top or snooze non-urgent messages. Categories and flagging are available as well.
Microsoft says there is much more to do as it is rebuilding Outlook for Mac from the ground up. It hopes to be faster, more reliable and to be a better Outlook experience for everyone.
The native Outlook for Mac app is now available in the App Store.
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