In what is perhaps a surprising move, Microsoft is making Outlook for Mac completely free on Apple’s masOS. This means users no longer need a Microsoft 365 subscription or Office license to use the full capabilities of Outlook. Instead, the complete email client is completely free from Apple’s App Store.
When using Outlook for Mac, users can access Outlook.com as well as third party services such as Gmail and Yahoo. In fact, the app supports any email client that has IMAP support.
Microsoft does a good job of updating Outlook for Mac, usually rolling out fresh UI designs whenever Apple tweaks MacOS. For example, there was a 2020 overhaul that added a customized toolbar instead of the classic Office ribbon.
Outlook for Mac will run on M1 and M2 MacBooks because Microsoft has optimized the app for those chips. Furthermore, the app has an accompanying widget and notification center access. Apple’s handoff feature that syncs apps between macOS and iOS is also available in Outlook.
Not a PWA Template
While reports suggest Microsoft’s decision to make Outlook for Mac free is related to the company seeking to make the email client more web focused, that does not seem to be the case. Microsoft says that it currently has no intention to make Outlook a Progressive Web App (PWA).
Michael Palermiti, a partner product group manager for Outlook, “The new Outlook for Mac is a native macOS app. Microsoft plans to continue building and maintaining best-in-class native apps on macOS and iOS. No Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are planned for Mac Outlook.”
Tip of the day: Windows now has a package manager similar to Linux called “Winget”. In our tutorial, we show you how to install and use this new tool that allows the quick installation of apps via PowerShell or a GUI.
