Outlook users: the wait for a proper email app is over. Microsoft rolled out new native Outlook apps for iOS and Android Thursday.
The new apps are essentially repackaged versions of Acompli, the email app Microsoft acquired last year.
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Acompli aimed to set itself apart from other email clients by focusing on multitasking. The app included a built-in calendar and features that made it easier to find attachments and contact information without digging through your inbox -- all of which carry over to the new Outlook-branded apps.
The apps also maintain support for non-Microsoft email accounts, so Gmail and Yahoo users can continue to use the Outlook app -- as of Thursday Acompli's iOS and Android apps will redirect to Outlook.
The new apps will be welcome news to longtime Outlook users who until now largely relied on either third-party email apps or web apps. Previously, Microsoft technically had mobile versions of Outlook through its Outlook web app, OWA, which was available to iPhone and some Android users but it was far from ideal. The app was limited to Office 365's business users so those with outlook.com or personal accounts couldn't use the service and many found the user experience to be lacking.
"Let’s face it, OWA isn't even really an app," Acompli CEO Javier Soltero, who joined Microsoft following the acquisition, wrote last year. "It’s a slow-loading web app wrapped in native Chrome."
The new Outlook app experience will also carry over to the touch-optimized version of Outlook for Windows 10. As with Microsoft's previous Android app releases, the first version of Outlook for Android will come with a "preview" label as Microsoft looks for feedback from users with different types of devices.
Speaking of "preview" apps, Microsoft is also removing the label from the Android tablet versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint apps, which were first announced in November. Like their iOS counterparts, the Office apps for Android are free.