Back in May of 2022, Microsoft began testing a new, redesigned, and revamped Outlook where the idea was to unify the app across all platforms, which is why it was often referred to as "One Outlook". The name of this project was "Monarch."
And by April of this year, Microsoft began rolling out the preview to the Current channel users as well. The "Try the New Outlook for Windows" toggle was still present which meant users still had the choice of whether they wanted to move to the revamped Outlook or if they wanted to continue using the Windows 32-bit version.
With the latest Beta channel Windows 11 build, however, Microsoft has now begun pushing the New Outlook to Windows Insiders as well. Twitter user and Windows enthusiast PhantomOcean3 noticed that their Beta channel build 22631.2338 (KB5030305) automatically installed the new Outlook after a reboot:
Looks like the new Outlook for Windows app might be automatically installed for you after updating to 22631.2338. I didn"t go and download it myself, yet here it is. pic.twitter.com/MUdoSA3sKu
— PhantomOcean3 🌳 (@PhantomOfEarth) September 12, 2023
A poll was also conducted on Twitter by the same user and although very few people voted in this (only 26 at the time of writing), it looks like some of them, around ~15.5% also received the new Outlook client.
If you"ve updated to 22631.2338, were the new Outlook for Windows app and/or Dev Home automatically installed after an additional reboot?
— PhantomOcean3 🌳 (@PhantomOfEarth) September 12, 2023
In response to this, Brandon LeBlanc, the Senior Program Manager of the Windows Insider Program, confirmed that this was expected on, at least, some systems which means Microsoft might be testing the feature for an automatic installation with the Windows 11 23H2 feature update, though it will likely be a gradual rollout. This follows a recent report that suggested Microsoft 365 users would be automatically migrated to the new client starting August 2023.
In some cases, this is expected.
— Brandon LeBlanc (@brandonleblanc) September 12, 2023
Microsoft has already confirmed that Windows 11 version 23H2 is arriving in Q4 of this year, and since the end of support for 21H2 is close to that, the company has said it will force-update PCs with the latter to Windows 11 22H2, though chances of that being 23H2 are also there.
However, this could also mean that the company is testing the new Outlook for Windows 11 23H2 in general as it does aim to eventually replace the classic Outlook in about a year"s time.