Microsoft has announced that Outlook is now free for macOS users. It no longer requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or Office license to use the email client. As Microsoft aims to make Outlook’s Windows counterpart more powerful, it’s also increasing the overall user base by making it free on Macs. At the time of writing, Outlook for Mac is available to download in the Apple App Store.
Outlook for Mac includes support for Outlook.com accounts in addition to Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo and any other IMAP-supported email provider. The program’s interface had already been redesigned in 2020 to be better optimised for the latest macOS versions.
Additionally, the email client has also been optimised for the M1 and M2 chips, meaning performance and battery life should both be up to the mark. There’s also a macOS widget for calendar entries as well as native notification centre support. Finally, the program does support handoff with iOS, meaning transferring tasks between an iPhone and Macbook shouldn’t be a problem at all.
That’s about it for now. Microsoft doesn’t plan to bring an Outlook web app to macOS but will add a menu bar peek option soon letting users see calendar entries within the Outlook for Mac app at a glance. Finally, support for macOS’ Focus mode with additional profiles has also been teased and will be released soon.
Microsoft is currently rebuilding its Windows Outlook app with the Windows maker testing a PWA version of Outlook for about a year now. While this PWA app in testing is eventually going to merge with the Windows Mail app and Outlook for Windows to essentially create one free PWA which will also support multiple email providers alongside many of the aforementioned features from its macOS counterpart.
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