Outlook for iOS and Android Getting New Look, Sunrise Merge on the Horizon

Today, Microsoft is ready to deliver an update to iOS devices that bring a fresh UI update for its Outlook email app. The same update will be available for Android users in early November.

Outlook, of course, is an app that was rebranded after Microsoft’s acquisition of Acompli last year. Acompli was by far (and continues to be) the best email app for iOS. Another acquisition earlier this year, Sunrise, was the best calendar app for iOS.

More than a simple UI enhancement, today’s update for Outlook is the start of a much larger operation for Microsoft’s cross-platform apps. Over the next few months Microsoft is expecting to deliver even more updates, but these updates will see a merging of Sunrise directly into Outlook. Eventually, a single app will serve all platforms.

In a blog post today, Microsoft says…

…will eventually replace the current Sunrise app. We will leave Sunrise in market until its features are fully integrated into Outlook, the exact timing of which we will communicate in advance.

Additionally, and not to leave out Microsoft’s own mobile OS, the company is promising that a Windows Phone version of Outlook is coming soon. Considering the company is rumored to officially release Windows 10 for Mobile in December, that time frame makes the most sense.

We're preparing some in-depth coverage of the Outlook UI refresh and also the additional Outlook capabilities coming from the Sunrise merge. Stay tuned.