M365 Changelog: New Microsoft Outlook for Windows is GA on August 1, 2024

MC810420 – On August 1, 2024, the new Microsoft Outlook for Windows will transition from the Preview phase to General Availability for commercial accounts. This milestone will not affect existing users who continue to use classic Outlook for Windows; however, GA status helps organizations move forward with their migration plans. A future announcement will cover General Availability for US Government clouds (GCC, GCC High, and DoD) and availability in other sovereign clouds.

The new Outlook continues to be an opt-in experience. Please note that this update does not change any settings for your organization, will not automatically switch users from the classic version of Outlook for Windows, and will not introduce any disruptive changes. Microsoft will provide a 12-month notice prior to initiating any Microsoft-driven migration steps in managed environments. Learn more about Microsoft approaching its migration timeline: https://aka.ms/newOutlookTimeline

Key Updates starting August 2024

• The new Outlook for Windows will receive full support from Microsoft’s support channels, including Assisted Support.
• The app name for the classic Outlook for Windows will include “(classic)” starting from version 2407.

Microsoft understands some organizations may have specific requirements that prevent them from transitioning from the classic Outlook app at this time. The new Outlook team is eager to gather your feedback and to understand your requirements. You and your users can submit feedback through:

• The Help tab in the new Outlook for Windows app
• The dialog boxes that display when a user reverts to classic Outlook
• Your account team (for larger organizations)

Learn more about the future features of Outlook on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap: https://aka.ms/newOutlookforWindows

Side-by-side feature comparison of the classic and new Outlook: https://aka.ms/newOutlookFeatureComparison

Resources to help with change management and enterprise adoption: https://aka.ms/newOutlookAdoption

Recommended actions

• Control availability: Organizations retain control over the new Outlook’s availability. Policies can be set to hide the toggle in classic Outlook for Windows, block new mailboxes from being added, or remove new Outlook from certain Windows builds. For detailed instructions, refer to https://aka.ms/newOutlookControlRelease
• Learn about policy management: The new Outlook’s policies are managed through mailbox policies on the primary account, as they are for Outlook on the web. IT admins may choose to preconfigure an organization account as the primary account. Learn more: Policy Management – Deploy Office
• Prepare to manage updates: The new Outlook introduces features through service-based flighting, not through build updates. Features will be listed on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, and then released into the Targeted Release ring for 30 days before beginning General Availability release. Learn how to set up release options (Standard Release is now referred to General Availability.)
• Transition from COM to web add-ins: COM add-ins will not be supported in the new Outlook, and organizations need to transition to web add-ins instead. A variety of equivalent web add-ins are already available, and Microsoft offers assistance for organizations who rely on COM-only add-ins. Learn more about how to Migrate from COM to web add-ins and review a list of available web add-ins.
• Plan for user migration: Microsoft will provide a 12-month advance notice before initiating Microsoft-driven migrations to the new experience in managed environments. Microsoft knows organizations prefer to time and drive their own upgrades. Organizations are encouraged to review these resources to help get started. IT administrators can now review and share within their organizations:
  • Adoption and migration resources: https://aka.ms/newOutlookAdoption
  • Support content and user training for the new Outlook: https://aka.ms/newOutlookSupportDocs
  • Admin documentation: https://aka.ms/newOutlookAdminDocs