The clock is ticking for the old Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps. Microsoft recently updated the official documentation to clarify that with the end of support, the apps will stop working altogether on December 31, 2024. In other words, even if you manage to keep the new Outlook app away from your computer, the old Mail app will lose its ability to send and receive mail in less than two months.
Here is what Microsoft says in the now-updated support document:
Support for Windows Mail, Calendar, and People will end on December 31, 2024. We"re currently in the process of moving existing users to the new Outlook for Windows. After December 31, 2024, users will no longer be able to send and receive email using Windows Mail and Calendar. Any local emails, calendar events, and contacts stored in Mail, Calendar, and People will remain exportable following the steps in Export emails and contacts from Windows Mail or People and import to new Outlook.
Until recently, the document only mentioned the end of support without an explicit explanation of how it would affect the apps" core features. Now, we know that Microsoft will force everyone to use the new Outlook for Windows by cutting off the old UWP Mail and Calendar clients from the days of Windows 10.
In its support document, Microsoft says that with the new app, everyone "gets the best of Outlook" for free. In reality, though, the new Outlook is universally hated for being a slow web app, lacking features, and providing an overall bad user experience. Sadly, Microsoft is completely tone-deaf to the user"s voice and just shoves the disliked application down everyone"s throat. For many, switching to a different email client will be a much better option than the new Outlook for Windows with all of its shortcomings.
Via WinFuture