As expected, Microsoft is gradually removing Mail and Calendar from Windows 11 in favor of the new Outlook. A forced migration to the all-in-one messaging app that won’t be to everyone’s taste.
When launching Windows on a PC, the user has the chance to benefit from a range of integrated applications without having to download new ones. Notepad, Paint or even the calculator are operating system histories and contribute to daily use for millions of users. With the different evolutions of Windows, some have been modernized to be more adapted to the times. Thus, the Photos image viewer has, for example, undergone significant development between versions 7 and 11 of Windows.
The launch of Windows 11 in October 2021 also brought many changes. In addition to the centering of the taskbar and revisited menu coloring, certain applications have disappeared from the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system. This is how in the fall of 2024, the free word processor WordPad left Windows 11. A deletion which today calls for two others.
Windows 11 says goodbye to Mail and Calendar
As we announced to you last December, the two software programs which respectively allow you to manage your email and your calendar will disappear from Windows 11. This is news that shakes up the use of millions of users who until then took advantage of these free applications, easy to use and integrated into the operating system as standard.
Instead of Mail and Calendar, Microsoft has chosen to impose on its users the new Outlook, also called New Outlook or Outlook (new). The idea behind this adjustment is to use only one application bringing together all the functions in one place. Thus, Outlook combines the sending and receiving of messages (Mail) and allows you to organize appointments and events for the year (Calendar).
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Now, when launching Calendar or Mail in Windows 11 on a recently updated PC, from the Start menu, searching the Taskbar or a shortcut, a new Outlook window automatically opens instead by encouraging you to link an email account.
New Outlook: a gradual but forced deployment
Not all PCs are affected by this change at this time. For now, some users can still take advantage of Calendar and Mail before they are turned off. The migration to New Outlook should be gradual according to Microsoft, even if it started on January 1st. On the other hand, for those whose access to both applications is already blocked, a warning message is automatically displayed when starting one or the other application, specifies Windows Latest.
The latter indicates that Mail or Calendar are no longer supported by Microsoft and that they are now replaced by the new version of Outlook. The message also warns that emails and calendar events can no longer be sent or received there. Finally, for those who have data stored locally, such as emails, calendars or contacts, it is necessary to export them to keep a copy.
Even if on paper this unification of applications seems interesting, the transition to New Outlook still has some negative points. First of all, Microsoft chose to remove its old applications from its Store. It is therefore no longer possible to have Mail and/or Calendar in the latest version of Windows 11. And to another extent, the new Outlook could contain advertisements, appearing in particular in the inbox. An unwanted feature on the part of users and which is slightly disturbing for an application supposed to be natively integrated into the operating system.
