Half of IT professionals are bypassing the new Outlook app in favor of the classic version, according to a survey by ITdaily. Even those using the new version do not necessarily find it better.
Microsoft has been trying to convince Outlook users to switch to the new version, which has been available since the summer of 2024, for some time now. The transition is not yet going smoothly, according to a survey by ITdaily. We surveyed 257 IT professionals about which version of the mail app they use and which version they prefer.
The results show a landslide victory for classic Outlook. You could call IT professionals a bit old-fashioned: more than half (51%) admit to still using the old version. Outlook remains the de facto mail app for IT professionals in all its versions: only 17 percent responded that they do not use Microsoft’s mail app.
New is not better
Among the 32 percent of surveyed IT professionals who have switched to the new Outlook, opinions are divided on which version is actually better. 12 percent use the new version but look back at classic Outlook with nostalgia. For this group of respondents, we have good news: classic Outlook will not definitively disappear until 2029. In this guide, we show how you can still use the classic version.
11 percent feel that both versions are equally good. This leaves only nine percent who use the new Outlook and actually find it better. If the survey teaches us anything, it is that newer is not necessarily better for IT professionals; the same applies to Windows.
Deadline postponed
We are curious to see how Microsoft will interpret the results. The software giant could see it as a signal to ask what Outlook users are missing in the new version and continue to refine it, or to push the new Outlook more aggressively. With Microsoft, it can never be ruled out that they will choose the second option.
Recently, Microsoft showed some mercy by postponing the opt-out deadline for classic Outlook by a year for business users. From 2027, the new Outlook will be enabled by default for everyone, unless the IT administrator decides otherwise. For many users, this has already been the case for some time, although you can still revert via a well-hidden button.
Every delay is not a cancellation: eventually, everyone must and will switch to the new Outlook. This will happen in stages: for example, in the near future, Microsoft wants to ensure that those who switch can no longer return. In 2029, classic Outlook will receive its final death blow. It remains to be seen whether the new version will have managed to charm everyone by then.