Outlook is poor for those still on Windows Mail, Calendar, People apps by end of year

Microsoft is preparing to kill off the old Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps by the end of this month and shift users to the Outlook for Windows app.

In November, Microsoft confirmed there would be no reprieve for the apps. It will be possible to export local emails, calendar events, and contacts that users have stored in Mail, Calendar, and People into the new Outlook up until December 31, 2024. After that, however, the ability to send or receive mail will be revoked.

"The new Outlook for Windows is for everyone. Now everyone with Windows gets the best of Outlook built into Windows for free," Microsoft said. AI is also on hand "to help you write impactful, clearer, mistake-free messages."

While it will continue to support "Classic" Outlook, Microsoft wants users to migrate to the new app. One user complained: "I don't need a bloated mail client. Mail and Calendar apps just work. If I need a more fully featured email client, I will just use the Office 365. [B]ut the 'new' Outlook is garbage."

Mail, or Windows Mail, was a follow-up to Outlook Express, so returning to the Outlook branding just might please some even if the implementation is not to everyone's taste. The People app arrived with Windows 8, and it has a confusing co-existence with Contacts, with both sharing some functionality.

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The loss of People from Windows might trigger a few memories. Microsoft ditched the original Cardfile application, which was frequently used as a contact manager before the turn of the century. Schedule+ and Outlook Express eventually took over its contact management duties.

The new Outlook is web-based rather than a native Windows application. There is a marked difference in appearance and, according to some users, slower performance.

Still, switching between the old and new experiences had always been possible. Existing users of the three apps have mere weeks to go before either accepting the new Outlook or picking an alternative, such as Thunderbird or Vivaldi's email client. ®