Microsoft has announced a whole bunch of new features for Outlook on Android and iOS. The new features include a simplified login process, new Cortana capabilities, suggested replies, text predictions, and more.
Cortana for Outlook
Having added Cortana for Microsoft Teams last week, Microsoft is now enhancing the capabilities of Cortana on Outlook for Android and iOS. You can now use Cortana on Outlook to compose new emails, schedule meetings, and much more. The feature is rolling out to Outlook in early October.
New Login Experience
To help increase the adoption of Outlook on mobile, Microsoft is making it convenient to get started. When users open Outlook on their desktop or from a web browser, the company will notify users about the Outlook mobile app. You can send yourself a text message with the app’s link. Moreover, there is a new option to sign in by scanning the QR code on your computer. This way, you don’t have to enter the credentials.
Suggested Replies
Outlook will now offer reply suggestions based on the email you’ve received. As Microsoft points out, you can send your availability or schedule a meeting if the app detects a meeting invitation. The feature works only if the user’s organization allows suggested replies.
Notification Shortcuts
Another new feature is Notification Shortcuts. On Outlook’s Android app, you will see three options namely Archive, Reply, and Delete for quick actions. You can also choose one of your preferred actions for the first two buttons when you receive a new email notification.
Drag and Drop
Drag and drop support is coming to the Outlook app for iPad. You can now open two apps at the same time to drag and drop items such as images to Outlook. Microsoft announced this feature along with the new Outlook Calendar widget when Apple launched iOS 14 and iPadOS 14.
Text Predictions
Much like Gmail’s smart compose, text predictions on Outlook will complete your sentences. Meanwhile, Microsoft is bringing Editor, Translator, Immersive Reader and Text predictions to Outlook for Windows.
Other new features coming to Outlook mobile apps include a Weather indicator across Agenda, Day, 3 Day, and Week views, emoji reactions for emails, and the ability to book a workspace through Outlook.
