Microsoft 365 will get a new Outlook app in July. However, this already exists – albeit with a completely different orientation.
Under the name Outlook Lite is Microsoft’s new email client for Android. It is an app intended for less powerful smartphones. It is also part of Microsoft 365, so at first glance it is aimed at corporate and educational customers. However, further information is not yet available, because so far there is only one entry in the roadmap – with the soon and worldwide release of the application this July.
Outlook Lite may already be available
At the same time, however, Microsoft has another app called Outlook Lite, which is not available worldwide. An information page about this application creates even more confusion: This Outlook Lite cannot be used explicitly with business accounts, but is intended for Microsoft private customers. Whether it is simply an app of the same name but technically completely different or rather an update with worldwide availability of the existing application remains unclear in the roadmap – and Microsoft has not yet answered a corresponding request from heise online.
The older Outlook Lite is not available in the local Play Store – however, Dr.Windows tested it with a manually downloaded APK installer. The result: Superficially, it hardly differs from regular Outlook for Android, but account management is limited and subjectively it ran better. According to Dr.Windows, the latter could also be due to the practically empty account during the test.
A new desktop Outlook is also coming
At the same time, Microsoft is preparing to launch its new desktop client before: Office insiders have been able to test it since mid-May. First and foremost, the look, which is based on the web version, and the automatic reminders for important and unanswered e-mails are new. In addition, Outlook is to guide its users through the working day in the future by converting messages into to-do lists and calendar entries with one click. It is still unclear when exactly the new Outlook for the desktop will be ready.
