Unlock the Power of Outlook: Transition, Integration, and Premium Features

Key takeaways :

• Microsoft is forcefully upgrading users from the old Mail & Calendar apps to the new Outlook app, with some users experiencing a pop-up notification highlighting changes to Mail.
• Outlook’s integration with Microsoft To-Do has become more seamless and impressive, allowing users to easily manage tasks and calendar events within the app.
• Users of Outlook 2021 from the Office package can switch to the new version via the slider “Test the new Outlook,” while classic Outlook will remain on the system and can be used in parallel.
• Outlook.com is a free email service for personal email, and anyone can sign up for a free email account at https://outlook.com.
• The new Outlook for Windows aims to provide a consistent, beautiful, flexible, and familiar experience for users on devices running Windows 10 or higher, with continuous addition of new functions.

Transition to New Outlook App

Per the outlet, Microsoft is forcefully upgrading users from the old Mail & Calendar apps to the new Outlook app. Some users have reportedly seen a pop-up notification when launching the Mail & Calendar apps on their devices highlighting several changes to Mail. Strangely enough, the pop-up disappears within a moment’s notice, making it difficult for users to go through the entire notification.

My Day: To-Do and Calendar Integration

Prior to 2024, Outlook’s link with Microsoft To-Do was a little cumbersome. However, one of the most impressive and useful modern-day features of Outlook is this integration. In Outlook, click the My Day icon in the top-right corner to open the Calendar and To-Do list, which you can click between using the tabs in the sidebar. You can easily click Add A Task to remind yourself of another job you have to do. An even more useful feature is that you can click and drag an email from your inbox or another folder over to your My Day sidebar, and either drop it into your To-Do list or add it as an event in your Calendar.

Switching to New Outlook

Anyone using Outlook 2021 from the Office package can switch to the new version via the slider “Test the new Outlook.” However, classic Outlook will remain on the system and can continue to be used in parallel. If you do not use Office, you can install the new Outlook free of charge. Although this is publicly available, it is still undergoing major development as many functions are still missing. New functions are therefore constantly being added.

The new Outlook for Windows is the next step to bring consistency to the way you use Outlook. Everyone on a device running Windows 10 or higher, from free accounts to commercial super users, will have a beautiful, flexible, and familiar Outlook experience.

Outlook.com

Outlook.com is a free email service for your personal email. Anyone can go to https://outlook.com and sign up for a free email account. Previously known as Hotmail.com and Live.com, you can use Outlook.com if your email address ends in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @msn.com, or @live.com.

Windows Mail and Calendar Integration

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If your accounts are supported in the new Outlook, you will see a toggle in the upper right of the Mail app in Windows 10 and 11 to Try the new Outlook. This option downloads the new app and switches your preferred email client. The new Outlook for Windows will launch into the first account on your list in Windows Mail. If Outlook can’t sign you in automatically, manually type in the account and sign in. Select Import Settings on the dialog that appears to bring over your settings or choose Skip. To learn more about what settings are imported, see Migrate your settings to the new Outlook for Windows.

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• Email on web and mobile: Access your emails on your computer or through the mobile app.
• Calendar on web and mobile: Stay organized wherever you are with the Outlook calendar. Using an online calendar to create events and set up reminders can help increase productivity.
• Security features: Get basic protection with security features like spam filters.
• Mailbox storage: A free Outlook account can store up to 15 gigabytes (GB) of mail, which is plenty of room for everyday use.
• OneDrive storage: Keep your photos and files on hand with five GB of OneDrive storage. Five GB is the perfect amount of storage for holding school papers, important documents, and photos.
• Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint: Create quality documents and presentations with the web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Web versions can only be used with internet access, and desktop versions are available with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Basic Teams and Editor features: Connect with family and coworkers with Teams and proofread your work before submitting with Editor. All-day video calling and advanced writing assistance features are available with a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Premium Outlook Features

A Microsoft 365 subscription allows you to enjoy all the premium benefits of Outlook, including ad-free mail, advanced security features, upgraded mailbox and OneDrive storage, and more. Explore your Outlook plan options to see what’s in store.

The new webmail design echoes the clean, simple look of Microsoft’s major re-thinking of its flagship product, Windows 8. Outlook.com takes as its foundation all the work Microsoft has done in recent years on Hotmail. That includes vastly improved spam filtering, mailbox cleanup tools, a much speedier interface, and the ability to attach large files via Web storage using SkyDrive. This allows a single attachment size of up to 300MB, compared with Gmail’s 25MB. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions.