Outlook Mobile Updated with Major New Calendar Features

Microsoft today announced a major update to the Outlook app on Android and iOS, adding several top-requested calendar features.

“Whether you’re planning your next dinner date or an upcoming meeting with teammates, the Outlook app is there to help you manage and make the most of your day,” a post attributed to the Outlook team reads. “Today, we are adding several of your most highly requested calendaring features, including the ability to sync your shared calendars to your phone and manage and RSVP to recurring events.”

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Here’s what’s new.

Synced shared calendars. Now, you can view and edit Office 365 and Outlook.com calendars and then share them with others from within the app. (This feature is rolling out on the back-end now, Microsoft says, but you can re-accept any sharing invitations from Outlook on iOS or Android to jump-start the process on your device.)

Manage delegated calendars. Users who manage other people’s calendars can now do so directly from Outlook Mobile: You can now manage your delegates, accept a delegation request, and fully view and edit delegated calendars.

Meetup support. Outlook Mobile now supports Meetup via a new Calendar app that lets you see upcoming Meetups directly on your calendar.

Event management. Outlook on both Android and iOS now supports improved event management with daily, weekly, monthly or yearly recurrences for events, RSVP for events, and the ability to see your coworkers’ availability (this was previously on iOS only).

A few iOS-specific updates. Additionally, those using Outlook on iOS can now add a message when responding to a meeting invite, set events as private, and mark calendar events as Busy, Free, Out of Office, or Tentative. These features are coming to Android soon, Microsoft says.

 

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Conversation 25 comments

  • will

    Premium Member
    09 October, 2017 - 1:55 pm

    <p>This is great, but even better stuff with Cortana is on the way ;)</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      10 October, 2017 - 2:49 am

      <blockquote><a href="#205351"><em>In reply to will:</em></a></blockquote><p>Still waiting for Cortana to be released on Android, currently all the devices I have are not compatible (Nexus 5X, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S8, all German version).</p><p>I don't understand, why I can use Cortana on Windows, but I can't install it on Android…</p>

  • adamcorbally

    09 October, 2017 - 2:19 pm

    <p>I wish they would add an option for a separate calendar on ios, even just an icon that opened direct to the calendar portion of the app</p>

    • Polycrastinator

      09 October, 2017 - 2:50 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#205372"><em>In reply to adamcorbally:</em></a></blockquote><p>This. I'd love to have Sunshine back. And I say that as someone who does use the Outlook app for email on their phone.</p>

    • Bob G

      Premium Member
      09 October, 2017 - 5:10 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#205372"><em>In reply to adamcorbally:</em></a></blockquote><p>Force Touch does this in iOS. Press hard on the Outlook icon and choose View Calendar. Not as good as a separate icon, but it does the job.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      10 October, 2017 - 2:48 am

      <blockquote><a href="#205372"><em>In reply to adamcorbally:</em></a></blockquote><p>I use the Outlook calendar widget on the home screen to show next appointments, tipping on title bar of the widget opens the calendar directly.</p>

  • bgoodbody

    Premium Member
    09 October, 2017 - 3:03 pm

    <p>It takes a while for the new version to show up on Android. Some times a week or 2.</p>

  • walterwood44

    09 October, 2017 - 4:27 pm

    <p>This kind of reminds me of when I wanted to buy a Window's phone about 6 or 7 years ago. When my contract was up, Microsoft was still a year out with a decent phone. I bought an Android and never looked back. In the last year, I tried Outlook on my Android but every time I opened a message the text immediately shrunk to microscopic font. I was not the only one with this issue. I wrote to MS support but never got a response. I moved on to 9 and have been happy every since. It seems like MS is always a day late and a dollar short! </p>

  • wolters

    Premium Member
    09 October, 2017 - 4:41 pm

    <p>I've been waiting for a moment where I could use Outlook as my total email, calendar and contacts option on Android. It's getting closer…</p>

    • BMcDonald

      10 October, 2017 - 1:51 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#205450">In reply to wolters:</a></em></blockquote><p>Me as well. But until iOS actually lets me set the Outlook App as my defacto default for all activities and behaves as such (like using my Outlook app calendar without every seeing the pointless iOS calendar) – I fear I may never actually get to use the app without major workflow breakdowns.</p><p><br></p><p>Would love to know how others are actually using this app within the context of a standard iPhone workflow – like say when someone texts me a contact via iMessage. I need that contact to go into the Outlook Contacts apps and never into the Contacts on the phone – at least the last time I tried it… </p><p><br></p><p>It's about a hopeless as trying to tell iOS I want to use Chrome exclusively as my mobile browser – but iOS will never allow me to set that as a default.</p><p><br></p><p>B</p>

  • Bogdan Verbenets

    09 October, 2017 - 5:25 pm

    <p>Outlook calendar for iOS is horrible, I can't schedule a meeting reliably, it appears with a significant delay, seems to be dependent on internet connection. I don't have such problem on Android though.</p>

    • James Wilson

      10 October, 2017 - 2:43 am

      <blockquote><a href="#205473"><em>In reply to Bogdan_Verbenets:</em></a></blockquote><p>I've just moved over from Windows 10 mobile and while not as good, the Android version seems to be OK. I'd like to see the contacts part sync properly with Outlook.com though e.g. some fields are missing on Outlook for Android e.g. Anniversary that are set in Outlook.com</p>

  • Stooks

    09 October, 2017 - 8:23 pm

    <p>The App is worthless as long as your credentials and data are not encrypted and can be seen by Microsoft. One data breach or hack at Microsoft and millions of users will have their data stolen. Also it CANT be the default contact app on either iOS or Andorid. Simply a non-starter for me.</p>

    • James Wilson

      10 October, 2017 - 2:41 am

      <blockquote><a href="#205554"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>The Huawei contacts app provides a sync conduit with Outlook so that the Phones contacts are bi-directionally in sync with Outlook / Office 365 (you can choose for each contact) – which is nice. Perhaps one of the advantages of a vendors 'bloatware' over stock Android?</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      10 October, 2017 - 8:26 am

      <blockquote><a href="#205554"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p>It is the default contacts app on my Nexus 5X. There is an option to sync contacts with the phone itself, so that the contacts are available in the phone app, for example.</p>

      • Stooks

        10 October, 2017 - 11:25 am

        <blockquote><a href="#205652"><em>In reply to wright_is:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yes this is a recent update, the syncing of the contacts between the apps and the phone. That said you have basically two copies on the phone of your contacts, one in the phone app and one in Outlook. When you send text or does it pull from the Outlook app contacts? How about when you receive a phone call is the display name coming from the Outlook app contacts?</p><p><br></p><p>On iOS it happens the same way, however you cant change the default. The best way to make it work on iOS is to just use native apps. When I text or receive a phone call the display name is coming from the native contact app on iOS. </p><p><br></p><p>Not to mention the native app direct connects and does so fully encrypted. </p><p><br></p><p>Also on the latest version of this app on iOS replies are now at the bottom……native app keeps them at the top of the email chain. I can't find a way to turn this off.</p>

        • Skolvikings

          10 October, 2017 - 4:57 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#205734"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p>Replies on the bottom is an organize by thread issue. I always turn that off, so it's not an issue for me.</p>

        • wright_is

          Premium Member
          15 October, 2017 - 5:29 am

          <blockquote><a href="#205734"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p>I've been using Outlook on Android as my native contacts app for about a year, so not that recent. I don't know whether it provides the native apps with access or whether it makes a copy; I never use the native apps, other than the Phone app to make calls.</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    10 October, 2017 - 2:46 am

    <p>Favourite Contact and Calendar (from public folders) would be nice. My employer uses the public folders for contact lists for key customers and employees and a central calendar for all employees (who is offsite, on leave, sick etc.), having those sync to Outlook Mobile would be good.</p><p>I have to regularly copy the contacts from the central store into my private contacts.</p>

  • Peter Vassiliou

    10 October, 2017 - 4:32 am

    <p>Outlook mobile is in a terrible state. It lacks important features, like push email for all folders (not only the Inbox), categories, tasks. It doesn't support contact pictures for Exchange accounts. Really terrible. There are much better options out there, like Nine for Android.</p>

  • Care

    Premium Member
    12 October, 2017 - 1:37 pm

    <p>I was a holdout for a long time, but am now on Android. I wish Microsoft would build in some of the features they have in Outlook 2016, that they've never had in mobile: the ability to set the time an email will be sent out, more choices of when reminders for appointments go off, and, if they ever decide what their tasks/to-do app is going to be and get it syncing everywhere, the ability to make a task that recreates itself for a certain amount of time in the future once completed. Nine on Android will do the first two things, so that's what I'm using. </p>

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  • Luis_Sohal

    24 November, 2017 - 3:09 am

    <p>Call on &amp;&amp;**866).(877).(9859)__++</p><p>#Outlook Support Number</p><p>#Micrsosoft Support Number</p><p>#Outlook Password&nbsp;</p><p>#OutlookSupport&nbsp;</p><p>#HotmailPasswordRecovery</p><p>#OutlookandMicrosoft Support Phone Number</p><p>Call ***866).(877).(9859&gt;&gt;&gt;</p><p>outlooksupport.net</p><p><br></p>

  • ChestnutGrove

    12 March, 2018 - 1:38 pm

    <p>Can anyone point me to a good manual/user guide the Outlook Mobile App? I am looking for something that is both for Android and IOS. I am also looking for something that will easily digestible and professionally written.</p><p>Many thanks</p>

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