Outlook sees 'arguably the biggest change' since its launch in 1997

What you need to know

• Microsoft improved the shared calendar experience for Outlook for Windows.
• The company calls it "arguably the biggest change to Outlook for Windows since its initial release in 1997."
• The new experience speeds up shared calendar syncing and reliability.

Microsoft announced earlier this week that major improvements to Outlook for Windows are out of preview. The new shared calendar experience improves reliability and sync latency for both shared calendars and delegated calendars on Outlook. Microsoft explains that the improvements were already available for Outlook on the web, Mac, and mobile devices, and that they have now arrived on Outlook for Windows.

Microsoft says that this is "arguably the biggest change to Outlook for Windows since its initial release in 1997." The company started working on the new experience in July 2019 and has had tens of thousands of daily users test it in preview.

You won't actually see any differences after getting the new experience for Outlook. There aren't any new features or visual changes. Instead, calendars will sync faster and Outlook for Windows should be more reliable.

Calling and update that doesn't include any new features or visual changes "arguably the biggest change to Outlook for Windows since its initial release in 1997" might seem strange, but syncing calendars quickly and reliably is one of the most important features in Outlook.

While the new experience is rolling out now, you may have to wait until later this year to receive it. At the moment, only around 10% of Outlook for Windows users in the Current Channel with version 2103 have the improvements, but that number should go up gradually this spring and summer.