Microsoft Launches New Outlook for Mac, Next Office for Mac Suite Coming in Second Half of 2015 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Microsoft Launches New Outlook for Mac, Next Office for Mac Suite Coming in Second Half of 2015

Microsoft today announced the immediate launch of a new Outlook for Mac for Office 365 users, bringing a new look and a number of improvements as leaked earlier this week.

The new Outlook for Mac includes:

- Better performance and reliability as a result of a new threading model and database improvements.
- A new modern user interface with improved scrolling and agility when switching between Ribbon tabs.
- Online archive support for searching Exchange (online or on-premises) archived mail.
- Master Category List support and enhancements delivering access to category lists (name and color) and sync between Mac, Windows and OWA clients.
- Office 365 push email support for real-time email delivery.
- Faster first-run and email download experience with improved Exchange Web Services syncing.

outlook_mac_2014

New Outlook for Mac

Office 365 subscribers can access the new Outlook for Mac through their account pages, while subscribers who already have Outlook for Mac 2011 suite installed on their machines should follow these instructions for moving to the new Outlook for Mac.

Microsoft also provided an update on the next full version of Office for Mac, noting that development on the suite had been pushed back from its usual schedule due to Microsoft's work on prioritizing mobile and cloud development. The latest roadmap for Office for Mac, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote includes a public beta launching in the first half of 2015 and a final release coming in the second half of the year. Both Office 365 and perpetual license versions will launch in the same timeframe. Some details on the next Office for Mac were also leaked earlier this week.

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Gurman: iPhone Ultra Wows Early Testers, Except for Its Camera

Sunday August 23, 2026 11:19 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra is winning over the few people who have had hands-on time with the device, though the camera setup may leave some users wanting, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says people who have used the device – which is reportedly referred to internally as the iPhone Ultra – like how it fits in your...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday August 20, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the iPhone event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to...
iPhone 18 Pro Dark Cherry Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: When Will Apple Event Be Announced?

Monday August 24, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
It is now late August, meaning that Apple's annual iPhone event is just around the corner. Below, we take a look at when the event might be held this year. This September, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and an all-new foldable iPhone that will reportedly be named the iPhone Ultra. The regular iPhone 18, a lower-end iPhone 18e, and the iPhone Air 2 are not...

Top Rated Comments

WardC Avatar
154 months ago
Still wish you could buy the software outright and own it.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shareef777 Avatar
154 months ago
365 only? Why is MS begging companies to move away from their enterprise software?

Also, you should note that it's for Outlook 365 subscribers only. While my company uses Office 365, we have our own internal Exchange servers, so the new Outlook is useless as it won't activate.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
154 months ago
Looks really nice IMO

Looks like Apple Mail.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
154 months ago
I hate Outlook

I have hated Outlook for over a decade. When I was doing IT work up until last year I could tell the users that used it rather than Thunderbird; they called for help a lot more often. It's buggy, flaky, unintuitive, and designed by morons. It's the default email client where I work and I use Mail on my iPad most of the time just because I hate it so much. Looking down the list of "improvements" to Outlook I don't see anything that would change my opinion.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peterdevries Avatar
154 months ago
Second half of 2015 for the rest of office? The Microsoft Mac team has been sitting on their hands for 4 years. :mad:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Iconoclysm Avatar
154 months ago
Dominos server is light years ahead of Exchange! Its model has always been better than the pile of garbage known as Exchange. Storing mail files in one huge database is a cluster-F and makes backing up and restoring a nightmare. Compared to a file for each user.

Domino also has clustering built in that works, groupware functions that are better than *****Point. And the best part is you can run Domino on just about any OS: Windows, Linux, OS X, AIX, AS/400, HP/UX, etc. Unlike Exchange that is tied to AD/Windows.

The client needs help but again, you get 100% compatibility over Windows, OS X, and Linux. Version 9 of Domino has gotten better and has a decent look and feel.

Sorry, Exchange/Outlook like most of what Microsoft makes is garbage! Ask any IT person about PST files and you'll get an earful!

Spoken like someone who hasn't touched Exchange in 14 years.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)