Collaboration can be complex, and we all use different methods to prioritize tasks, such as using rules to automatically assign email to different folders or recipients. That, to be fair, is where Outlook begins to shine. Modern collaboration can often be messier, with lots of projects bouncing off multiple collaborators at various organizations. This all means that my workflow is often rather linear, and lines up rather well with Mail's strengths. Mail does support folders, which helps during major product releases or event coverage. I tend to organize projects outside of my email, versus trying to keep track of multiple contributions and email threads. Image: Mark Hachman / IDGįor me, my workflow often focuses on a single concept or topic, often summed up inside of a single email thread. In Mail, a lot of the information is either pared down or simply hidden, where you can unearth it if needed. Here, the focus is on the content, not the interface.
Mail, however, simplifies the whole process. Outlook overloads you with visual information. Mark Hachman / IDG Here, Outlook throws tabs, icons and more at you:Īn edited version of my work Outlook inbox. There's no way you can convince me that this Outlook interface (from an edited version of my inbox) is superior to the way Mail presents the same information. Where Mail shines, however, is the absolute elimination of visual clutter. At least Accounts offers you a good starting point.) Mail simply feels better organized. (To be fair, this could be made more intuitive by adding an Add Account button here as well. In Mail, the accounts Mail manages are prominently displayed on the left-hand nav bar, and adding an additional email account is as easy as simply right-clicking the Accounts button. The capability is there, but it's certainly not intuitive. To do so, you need to click the File button, which opens the Account Information page, and from there the Add Account button. In Outlook, there's really no obvious way to add an additional email account from your Outlook inbox. The first, how Mail handles multiple accounts, intersects neatly with Mail's strongest advantage-the simplified UI. On the other hand, Mail offers a few advantages that Outlook doesn't offer. Outlook offers a few ways to act upon (or delay acting upon) email that Mail does not. The latter's appeal boils down to organization. Of the fundamental differences between Outlook and Mail, there are two that stand out: the user interface, and how Mail forgoes certain advanced functions found in Outlook. You have the option to use Calendar, People, and To-Do Outlook puts them all under the same heading, rather than separate apps. You'll quickly find that Mail strips email down to its most basic elements: an inbox, outbox, and individual messages.
Mail will ask for your email address and password, like Outlook, and will take a few moments to synchronize.
BEST EMAIL CLIENTS FOR WINDOWS 11 WINDOWS 10
Remember, Mail is free and part of Windows 10 and 11 just launch the Mail app to get started. Instead, you can use Mail and then move to Outlook for more advanced functions. Fortunately, if you subscribe to Microsoft 365 and use Windows, you don't have to choose one over the other. But when it comes to choosing an everyday mail client, I generally prefer the simple, straightforward interface of the Mail app versus the more complex, cluttered, feature-rich Outlook.
Mail-and its related app, Calendar-don't feature many bells and whistles.