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By default, Outlook displays apps like Mail, Calendar, People, and To-Do on the bottom of the folders list, as can be seen in the screenshot highlighted above. However, since March 2022, Microsoft has been experimenting with a change that moves these Outlook apps to the left navigation pane, next to the folders as can be seen in another screenshot below:
Although Outlook apps have been available as an opt-in experience for the past few months already, it seems that Microsoft is now ready to make it the default experience. We should clarify that "default" actually means the "only" experience in this case, because there will be no option to revert to the old navigation UI.
Microsoft has outlined a few advantages of this approach. The company says that the new UX offers more vertical space so you can pin a bunch of apps instead of being limited to a few. It also provides a consistent experience where you can launch any app from the left pane and even customize their ordering and pinned status.
The navigation pane experience will be made live for everyone soon starting with Current Channel version 2207, which is the latest release of Office.