You now have another major alternative to the built-in Mail app on your Mac. Microsoft to make Outlook for Mac is free to use. You previously needed either a Microsoft 365 subscription or purchased Office to use your email client. It is now available through Mac App Store.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft offers this as a good complement to Outlook for iOS. You can deliver a draft email to your iPhone if you haven’t finished writing it on your Mac, for example. The upcoming Profiles feature will be linked to Focus Modes in macOS to help you limit notifications when you’re focused on work. As with all versions of Outlook, you can use email accounts from various third-party services, including Gmail, iCloud, and Yahoo (Engadget’s parent company).
The company isn’t shy about some of the reasons behind the move. The team is “rebuilding” Outlook for Mac with performance, reliability, and accessibility in mind. The free download may motivate users who have never tried it. Of course, this could spur adoption of Microsoft 365 and Office for customers who want tight integration between their email programs and productivity apps.
Addition would be welcome. There aren’t many great email clients for the Mac, with Mozilla’s Thunderbird being the most popular. Some of them are either paid only or unlock features with subscriptions. Even if Outlook doesn’t always match its features, you now have an easy way to try it out.