After a long period of “living in limbo”, Windows Mail, Calendar and People applications are gradually reaching the end of their life cycle. Microsoft recently updated the official documentation to clarify that the above-mentioned apps will stop working completely on December 31, 2024. In other words, even if you try to hold on, your Mail app Windows will also lose the ability to send and receive mail in less than two months.
Here's what Microsoft states in its newly updated support document:
Support for Windows Mail, Calendar, and People will end on December 31, 2024. We are currently in the process of migrating users to the new Outlook for Windows. After December 31, 2024, users will no longer be able to send and receive emails using Windows Mail and Calendar. Any local email, calendar events, and contacts stored in Mail, Calendar, and People will still be exportable following the steps in Export email and contacts from Windows Mail or People and import into the new Outlook.
Until recently, the documentation only mentioned the end of support without a clear explanation of how this change would affect the core features of the app. Now, we know that Microsoft will force everyone to use the new Outlook for Windows by cutting out the old UWP Mail and Calendar clients from the Windows 10 era.
Also in the support document, Microsoft said that with the new application, everyone “can enjoy Outlook” for free. However, in reality, the new Outlook is controversial because it is a slow web application, lacking features and providing a poor user experience. Sadly, Microsoft absolutely does not (or has not) listened to the voices of users, and is still diligently “cramming” the new Outlook into the hands of as many Windows users as possible. Even now, for many people, switching to another email application will be a much better choice than using the new Outlook for Windows, which is still too flawed.
