Microsoft Is Adding New Outlook Features To Keep Up With Google

• Microsoft is introducing new features for its Outlook app.
• The Outlook is getting new calendar features.
• Changes are also coming to Outlook mail features and mobile versions of the app.

Only less then a week after Google brought us its new Gmail redesign, Microsoft is following up with its new Outlook service updates. A number of new features are being introduced to the Outlook desktop app and its mobile versions for Android and iOS devices. And just like a Gmail, new Outlook is aimed primarily at business users.

A lot of new updates are focused on improving the calendar features of the Outlook service. For example, users can now see a new type of reminders on Outlook.com that are called "bill pay reminders". They can insert bills and their due dates which will then be added to the calendar as an event with a reminder on it. This way, Outlook.com service will send them a reminder email two days before the bill is due. As for the Windows app, Outlook will now suggest suitable meeting locations according to the calendar entry and also provide additional information about these locations with the information pulled from Bing.  Another calendar improvement is a better way to RSVP and also a new option that lets you track other attendees of the specific meeting, even though you are not an organizer. As The Verge notes, this is a good way to see if your boss is attending some meetings and if you should be there.

Image Courtesy Of Time

It looks like Outlook has improved its email service too. Now, users can be alerted in cases when their email address was blind copied on the email. A lot of new updates are also coming to the Android and iOS versions of the app. For example, iOS app will now be able to sync draft messages from other devices. This feature is already available on Android and other platforms. Android app is also getting an Office Lens tech which lets the user capture a photo of the document and make it appear like it was taken with a professional scanner. Mobile app on both platforms is also getting a new option to select your favorite contacts. This means that users will be able to tag people in their contact list as favorite, and other similar features like Office 365 Groups support, etc. We can expect all of these new features to be implemented in June this year.