Microsoft Outlook for Windows, Mac to get major design overhaul

Microsoft is working on a new design for its Outlook email service, a report said on Monday. The new design will focus on simplifying the user interface (UI) on both Mac and Windows platforms.

“The company released teasers for the new design during an ‘Ignite’ conference session in September. A lot of the changes look very similar to the Outlook for iOS app, with a single-line ribbon and a smaller set of default commands,” The Verge reported on Monday.

“Reducing complexity is one of the key aims of the redesign, to make it easier for new and existing Outlook users to navigate the email app,” the report added.

Earlier, the tech giant admitted that ‘MacBooks are popular amongst key influencers’ and that Microsoft “needs to win these users by delivering the best Outlook has to offer”. Microsoft has begun testing internal versions for both Mac and Windows platforms.

However, it is not known when this design will be available for users. Most of these design and feature changes are likely to be first made available to Office 365 subscribers and then, introduced in Office 2019 updates.