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Microsoft is pushing its new Outlook app onto Windows 10 whether you want it or not.
In a message sent to Microsoft 365 subscribers via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, the company said that the new Outlook will be preinstalled on Windows 10 computers with the optional January 28, 2025, release and the February 11, 2025, security update.
Once installed, the new Outlook app will replace the existing Mail and Calendar apps. After the installation, the new app will launch even if you click on the Start menu shortcuts for the older Mail and Calendar programs. Fortunately, the new Outlook will not replace the classic Outlook that comes with Microsoft 365 or Office 365 -- at least not yet.
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"New Outlook exists as an installed app on the device," Microsoft said in its message. "For instance, it can be found in the Apps section of the Start Menu. It does not replace existing (classic) Outlook or change any configurations / user defaults. Both (classic) Outlook and New Outlook for Windows can run side by side."
Though you cannot block the new Outlook from being force-installed on your Windows 10 system, you can remove it after the fact. Microsoft even provides a support page with the necessary steps for hiding or uninstalling the app if you do not want to use it individually or within your organization.
The forced installation in Windows 10 is just the latest move in the gradual migration to the new Outlook. In 2022, Microsoft started testing the new version before officially rolling it out to commercial users in 2024. The new app is already preinstalled on new Windows 11 devices and versions of Windows 11 with the 23H2 update.
Why a new version of Outlook?
First, the new Outlook merges the different features and settings in the Mail and Calendar apps into one single program. Second, the new app is an attempt to standardize on the look and feel across the desktop, mobile, and web versions of Outlook.
Those certainly sound like worthy goals. Ah, but not so fast.
The new Outlook has triggered complaints from Windows users who say that it lacks some of the functionality found in the Mail and Calendar apps. Some argue that the standardization goes too far as the new Outlook feels less like a Windows app and more like a webpage running on your PC. Having tried the new Outlook, I echo the criticism -- it does feel like a poorly designed piece of software.
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But the concerns do not stop there. Though the new Outlook has not replaced classic Outlook, that day will come. In a blog post from March 2024, Microsoft confirmed an eventual "cutover stage" in which new installations of Outlook with Microsoft 365 will push the new Outlook for Windows. At that point, the ability to switch back to classic Outlook will no longer be available. Classic Outlook will still be supported until at least 2029, but maybe not beyond that.
As a long-time user of classic Outlook, I am not looking forward to the replacement of the email client, especially by something as lightweight as the new Outlook. Yes, classic Outlook contains a lot of features and commands most people probably never use, but it is still an effective and heavy-duty program. Unless Microsoft dramatically improves the new Outlook, I am not looking forward to the death of classic Outlook.
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