Why it matters: Microsoft wants to simplify its Outlook applications by using a single Internet-powered client. This will allow Microsoft to have a shared experience on different platforms without having to deal with different code bases. It also appears to be part of a larger initiative to revive the Microsoft brand so that it is friendly to all platforms.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft will avoid dedicated desktop applications for Outlook instead of a single client-driven one. It’s part of Microsoft’s “One Outlook” initiative, which seeks to unify Outlook regardless of platform. The effort is called Project Monarch and will focus on replacing all Microsoft email clients, including the standard Windows Mail app.
Project Monarch will be built on a single code base to simplify implementation on platforms. Windows Central says that Microsoft looks like a single user experience and will be accessible to all customers, businesses and consumers.
Although you can now technically install Outlook as a Progressive Web App (PWA), it does not have all the integrations that Monarch will have. For example, Monarch will include offline storage, notifications and share targets. Microsoft wants to make it ‘native’ for every platform, while still maintaining the same look and feel as the Outlook website.
Microsoft will launch an example of Monarch by the end of the year. The standard Mail and Calendar applications will undergo next year, and Monarch will combine both features into one application. The company also plans to undergo the Win32 Outlook application, but this is likely to happen further in the future due to the complexity of the app.
Meanwhile, Windows Central states that the current Mail and Calendar programs are in “maintenance mode” and will get a slight user interface change in line with Microsoft’s planned “Sun Valley” design update for Windows 10 later this year.