Neowin member Ian S. has posted an extensive look of "Outlook on the web" preview in our forums. First announced by Microsoft two weeks ago, the update has started rolling out to users who have a Office 365 plan that includes Exchange Online, and have opted into the First Release plan.
Below is a summary from the forum post.
I realize many have not gotten a chance to get a hands on with the new UI update for Outlook.com. This is kind of a a first-look, hands-on, mini-review.
New Features:
- Whole new UI matching Office 365
- Outlook.com is now Outlook Mail
- Expanded App switcher with Bing, MSN, and Tasks
- New Tasks web app
- Selecting Calendar, People, or Tasks no longer opens a new tab, it now switches the URL without reloading the page, this is because they are all under outlook.live.com/owa
- Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks now exist under the Outlook branding (much better than the separate apps IMO)
- New themes
- Addins in Outlook Mail on the web
- Clicking Addins shifts the left side over (showing the folders), opening a pane on the right of the compose section
- Composing a message no longer hides the folders (it seems more cluttered though)
- There is now a loading screen
- Many settings are now panes that overlay on the right side
- Flags no longer keep messages at the top (pins do)
Outlook for web is a complete overhaul of the Outlook Web App (OWA) in Office 365, and Outlook.com, which will be renamed to Outlook Mail. It focuses on a better mobile experience and cleaner look. It"s currently not known when the update will arrive for all users.
For more screenshots and details on new features head to the forum topic.