Now you have another great alternative to the built-in Mail app on your Mac. microsoft has done Outlook for Mac free to use. Previously, you needed a Microsoft 365 subscription or an Office purchase to use the email client. It is now available through the mac app store.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft pitches this as a nice Outlook plugin for iOS. You can send a draft email to your iPhone if you haven’t finished writing it on your Mac, for example. An upcoming Profiles feature will link with macOS focus modes 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 could spur adoption by users who might never try it otherwise. And, of course, this could drive adoption of Microsoft 365 and Office for customers who want tight integration between their email software and productivity apps.
The addition could be welcome. There aren’t many great email clients for Mac, with Mozilla’s Thunderbird being the most notable. Some are paid features or unlocked with subscriptions. Even if Outlook doesn’t always match your features, now you have an easy way to test it.
