Rumor: Microsoft wants to replace mail clients with Outlook universal web app

Microsoft is reportedly working on a universal Outlook application that works in the browser and should replace existing standalone desktop applications such as Outlook, Mail and Calendar. The apps should disappear in two years.

Microsoft is rumored to be working under the codename Monarch on the universal web app, which the company is basing it on the current web version of Outlook. The upcoming app should be a lot more comprehensive than that web app. A preview of Monarch should be available at the end of this year and in 2022 the Mail and Calendar apps of Windows 10 should be replaced by the universal web app, Windows Central claims. That site more often reports information about Microsoft services that have not yet been announced, but does indicate that the company’s plans can still change.

Until the time of the replacement, Windows 10’s Mail and Calendar apps would enter a maintenance mode, with only minor interface changes being made. Monarch should also replace Outlook applications for Windows and Mac, at a later date.

The plans would be the ultimate goal of Microsoft’s “One Outlook” vision, which the company announced last September during its virtual Ignite conference. That announcement revolved around a consistent offering, expanding Outlook and integrating with other Microsoft services, but the ultimate plan would be to offer a single mail service instead of several mail clients.