Microsoft is trying to shift users to its new progressive web app variant of its flagship email client Outlook, but has crashed against the rocks of familiarity and convenience time and time again, however, a recent update to the platforms roadmap may ease that transition in the future.
Microsoft’s principal program manager Caitlin Hart shared an update on the company’s new Outlook for Windows app via the company’s Outlook blog. According to Hart, there is a list of new features as well as some comparative standard fair being brought over from the traditional M365 Outlook program planned for future releases of the app.
Some of the many things we have in the works
- Auto capitalization
- Collapsible headers in the message list
- Conditional formatting
- Copilot
- Drag and drop emails and attachments to the desktop
- Dictation
- Preserve declined meetings
- EML file support
- File tab in Outlook search
- Folder reordering
- Inking (Draw tab) while composing an email
- MSG file support
- Offline support
- Outbox folder
- Picture formatting
- POP3 account support
- PST file support
- Message Recall
- S/MIME
- Save as for attachments (choose folder to save to)
- Share local files from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Shared calendar notifications for work accounts
- Teams tab in search
While impressive on a sheer quantitative front, a cursory view of the official Microsoft 365 roadmap page highlights that most of these features started rolling out as early as April of this year with only a handful of the being released in the first half of 2024.
Hart’s recent post effectively sheds light on the progress made since the company has juggled it messaging and marketing of its transition to the new PWA version of Outlook. For anyone who was turned off or outright rejected sticking with the new Outlook for Windows app due to lack of features, perhaps the list shared above might tempt a second, third or umpteenth try at the program again.
Furthermore, Hart also details some key improvements that have hit the platform that users had overwhelming feedback for early on in this transition phase that includes:
Recent improvements and things to try in the new Outlook
- Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP account support
- ICS file support
- Message list selection improvements
- Quick steps
- Sort by sender or subject line
- Scheduling across different time zones
- Table styling improvements
- Folder list experience improvements
- Search folders (unread mail, flagged, or sent directly to me)
- Reminders window
- Find related messages (from this sender, in this conversation)
Again, Microsoft has already stated that the PWA version of Outlook for Windows is going to replace the Spartan-esque Windows Mail app in couple of years, and eventually the M365 variant as well. With that being said, Microsoft has a lot of redundant and iterative work ahead of itself to simply meet feature parity with its current offerings, let alone exceeding them to tempt millions of users to make a change.
