I am tempted to use outlook instead of mail app

[Kraizelburg]

Hi, as the tittle states I am tempted to start using outlook as my main mail app instead of apple mail. My account is an outlook account so it wont be any problems but one thing bothers me, the fact that I still had mail app around in my system. I am a bit of OCD with regards apps that I never use, I think outlook app has more functionality than default mac mail app but the fact that I cant remove it puts me off a bit.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

Thanks

 

[russell_314]

Hi, as the tittle states I am tempted to start using outlook as my main mail app instead of apple mail. My account is an outlook account so it wont be any problems but one thing bothers me, the fact that I still had mail app around in my system. I am a bit of OCD with regards apps that I never use, I think outlook app has more functionality than default mac mail app but the fact that I cant remove it puts me off a bit.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

Thanks

Use whatever mail app you prefer. It's one of the default system apps like Safari. Many people use Firefox or Chrome. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it. Remove any icons from the Dock and pretend it's not there. I have GarageBand on my Mac and never use it. To be fair I could delete that one but I'm not that tight for storage space so no reason.

 

[Kraizelburg]

Use whatever mail app you prefer. It's one of the default system apps like Safari. Many people use Firefox or Chrome. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it. Remove any icons from the Dock and pretend it's not there. I have GarageBand on my Mac and never use it. To be fair I could delete that one but I'm not that tight for storage space so no reason.

Yes I agree, storage is not my problem either, just wanted to know your thoughts and if anyone has wondered the same.

 

[russell_314]

Yes I agree, storage is not my problem either, just wanted to know your thoughts and if anyone has wondered the same.

I don’t really use the mail app but I don’t use my Mac for business either. I had it set up on my old Mac but I really don’t see the difference between going to the mail app or just going to the webpage for that email. I guess if you had a mail client required using something like outlook. Maybe I’m just not super productive 😂

 

[Kraizelburg]

Actually outlook in the web is really good, most web apps nowadays are even better than regular mail apps.

 

[xDeadTechx]

Hi, as the tittle states I am tempted to start using outlook as my main mail app instead of apple mail. My account is an outlook account so it wont be any problems but one thing bothers me, the fact that I still had mail app around in my system. I am a bit of OCD with regards apps that I never use, I think outlook app has more functionality than default mac mail app but the fact that I cant remove it puts me off a bit.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

Thanks

I use Outlook since it works for me, The app is just better built and as you said has much more functionality then the standard email app, but Apple's app is extremely simple.

I like the fact that with Outlook, I can just switch views for my Calendar, I don't need to open another app to view etc..

 

[MacGizmo]

I would advise you to train yourself to ignore the Mail app if you don't want to use it, but deleting it may be problematic in the future with OS upgrades. Updates/upgrades look for certain software to be installed and can fail completely if it doesn't find it. It's not a certainty that you'll have issues, but there's no sense in inviting the possibility simply to avoid seeing an icon in the Apps folder.

That being said, I do understand your desire to have a clean system, removing any apps you don't use.

 

[martin2345uk]

I use Outlook over Mail, I don't have Mail in the dock and I just forget it's there

 

[Lord of the Pies]

I am using Outlook as my desktop mail app. It works great. The only reason I ditched Apple Mail was because sent messages do not style the body text as the selected font. It's always the system font. So messages to Windows users look godawful and unprofessional. This nonsensical behaviour makes zero sense to me. No such issues with every other mail client I've used. The only workaround seems to be writing the body of your emails within the confines of an email signature, which I'm not willing to waste my time with.

The new Outlook for Mac has a rather nice, modern design. No complaints really, Microsoft has done a good job with it.

 

[colourfastt]

I'm going to jump into this with a bit of an off-topic. Rather than Outlook, I've pretty much migrated to the Google productivity ecosystem; while I tried to like MS Office, the Google UI, especially on the iPhone/iPad OS, is to my eyes better than Office's. Also, with things like contacts, Google Contacts offers more fields than MS Office and things like deaths can be added to Google contacts and they show as an event in Google Calendar—something not possible in MS Office. When it comes to calendar events the iOS Google Calendar is better than Outlook or (Apple) Calendar—see the attached photos below. (I used to use BusyCal but quit for reasons explained in the third paragraph.)

All that said, I do wish that Apple would spend some time refining its productivity apps; and while they're at it integrate them—i don't like jumping from app to app to get things done ... again where Google is better.

Next, Apple's problem is with the name of its "productivity" domain, i.e., iCloud. With Google, i.e., gmail.com, or Outlook, i.e., outlook.com, people recognize those as having some seriousness as both productivity suites are used in corporate environments but an icloud.com email address just screams "I'm a 12 year old".

The different iOS mobile UIs for Google Calendar and Outlook:

 

[Nhwhazup]

I have office 365 and Outlook has been awful for me. At least 3-4 times a year it stops syncing to the point where I have to remove the accounts and reinstall them.

 

[macintoshmac]

Hi, as the tittle states I am tempted to start using outlook as my main mail app instead of apple mail. My account is an outlook account so it wont be any problems but one thing bothers me, the fact that I still had mail app around in my system. I am a bit of OCD with regards apps that I never use, I think outlook app has more functionality than default mac mail app but the fact that I cant remove it puts me off a bit.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

Thanks

Be tempted. Be very tempted. If you think you are not tempted enough, just toggle the "New Outlook" button and enjoy a beautiful Outlook experience that I am loving more with every passing day.

For my use, Microsoft has really made Outlook delightful and fast with the "New Outlook".

 

[macintoshmac]

Also, with things like contacts, Google Contacts offers more fields than MS Office and things like deaths can be added to Google contacts and they show as an event in Google Calendar—something not possible in MS Office.

Say what? How does one add death of a contact in Google Contacts?

 

[jbachandouris]

I use both. The ability to mark emails as 'read' on my Apple Watch. Mail app doesn't let you mark something as 'read' without actually opening it on the watch. SOOO stupid.

My biggest pet peeve is there's no way to clear Gmail document history. There's files on that list from years ago that just won't go way even though they can't be opened since they're long since gone. Went through Gmail web history and I can't see them to delete them yet somehow Outlook can.

 

[colourfastt]

Say what? How does one add death of a contact in Google Contacts?

There's a field called "event" just add one.

 

[macintoshmac]

There's a field called "event" just add one.

View attachment 1785771

First off, I sense this screenshot is personal, so if this screenshot is indeed reflective of someone personal, I am sorry for the loss. We all have lost a part of our lives to this virus.

Second, coming back to this field, I realize what is going on. This is Google Contacts, so this is a full-fledged app. I can do this for Contacts in macOS as well. However, Outlook is different. That is a mail app that includes a calendar. This is not a Contacts app.

I do not have a Windows computer on me to check functionality with the Windows equivalent of Contacts app.

That said, I suppose we could just add a Calendar feed from Google Calendar or Apple Calendar to Outlook (both of which will show the custom fields we set in Contacts, I presume) to the same effect as you are experiencing and enjoying with Google ecosystem.

 

[colourfastt]

First off, I sense this screenshot is personal, so if this screenshot is indeed reflective of someone personal, I am sorry for the loss. We all have lost a part of our lives to this virus.

Second, coming back to this field, I realize what is going on. This is Google Contacts, so this is a full-fledged app. I can do this for Contacts in macOS as well. However, Outlook is different. That is a mail app that includes a calendar. This is not a Contacts app.

I do not have a Windows computer on me to check functionality with the Windows equivalent of Contacts app.

That said, I suppose we could just add a Calendar feed from Google Calendar or Apple Calendar to Outlook (both of which will show the custom fields we set in Contacts, I presume) to the same effect as you are experiencing and enjoying with Google ecosystem.

1. It is indeed a personal contact: my best friend—he died after rejection complications from a liver transplant; his liver was damaged from his HIV meds, hence the transplant. So, his wasn't a COVID-related death.

2. I guess you're right since there isn't an app for most Google functions, e.g., there isn't a Google Calendar app for desktops but there is one for iOS. So I, of course, use Chrome for almost all of my Google interaction.

3. This is true, but as I stated I much prefer the Google UI. I, frankly, can't handle the light grey-on-white look of Outlook (or BS for that matter).

 

[rforno]

I'm running both Big Sur and Catalina, and having just switched from Mail.app to Mailmate yesterday I don't think I'm ever going back.....