The US-based tech giant Microsoft has announced that its Outlook application for Mac is now free to use. It will eliminate the need for a Microsoft 365 subscription or license. The company said that the Microsoft Outlook application for Mac is available for free on the Mac App Store.
Outlook supports multiple email providers, including Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo Mail, and others, with a unified inbox and universal search functionality available. Outlook makes it easy to manage your day, triage your email, read newsletters, accept invitations to coffee, and much more.
As reported by The Verge, the app has been optimized for Macs with Apple silicon chips. Microsoft redesigned Outlook on macOS in 2020, and the app supports Notification Center widgets, Handoff between macOS and iOS, and more.
“Mac users everywhere can easily add Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo! or IMAP accounts in Outlook and experience the best mail and calendar app on macOS. The Outlook for Mac app complements Outlook for iOS – giving people a consistent, reliable, and powerful experience that brings the best-in-class experience of Outlook into the Apple ecosystem that so many love,” the company wrote in a blog post.
With Outlook, you’ll get a modern and native user interface that has been designed and optimized for macOS. And these enhancements go far beyond surface level. The new Outlook is optimized for Apple Silicon, with snappy performance and faster sync speeds than previous versions, the company said.
Microsoft will also add a menu bar peek option soon to quickly see calendar entries within the main Outlook for Mac app. The software maker is also planning to support Apple’s Focus experience with new Outlook Profiles coming soon.
“To help you stay on top of your email and calendar while using other apps, you can view your agenda using a widget and see reminders in the Notification Center. We are also creating a peek of upcoming calendar events in the Menu Bar (coming soon),” Microsoft said.
Additionally, the new Outlook Profile is coming soon, which will allow you to connect your email accounts to Apple’s Focus experience. “With Outlook Profiles, you won’t get unwanted notifications at the wrong time so you can stay focused on that important work email, with no distractions from your personal email,” it added.