While Google users are probably used to using the Gmail app on their mobile devices, Microsoft has actually created a pretty great email and productivity app with Outlook for Android. It brings a lot of the great features of Outlook itself to your mobile device, including a focused inbox and editing and managing your calendar. The latest update to the app makes it even easier for you to add, edit, and manage calendar events between your main calendar app and Outlook.
It’s not unusual for people to use multiple calendars and productivity apps right now so developers need to find a way to make syncing across apps easier, even if they’re not the same “family”. Microsoft is now playing nice with other calendar apps as they’re adding 2-way syncing between the Outlook app and whatever chain calendar app you’re using. Specifically, they refer to Google Calendar and Samsung Calendar but it should also be compatible with other apps.
This means that once you link your calendar app to Outlook when you add or edit an event on either of them, it should automatically sync as well. You’ll be able to view events from your preferred calendar on Outlook so if you’re checking your emails and you need to find out your schedule, you just need to switch to the Calendar tab that’s at the bottom of the app, alongside the mail and the search icons. No need to switch between apps with this integration.
Microsoft has been adding a lot of new capabilities to the Outlook app for a few updates now, including a simplified sign-in procedure, scheduling meetings suggestions based on your current appointments, customizable actions to notifications, etc. Getting 2-way calendar sync isn’t as exciting but it should be pretty useful for those that need easy access to their schedules.
You can download the latest version of Outlook for Android from the Google Play Store or update it if you already have. Microsoft will probably be planning more features in the future, so always watch out for updates.
