Report claims that Microsoft is working on a new mail app

Dec 8, 2014 10:27 GMT  ·  By

Work on Windows Phone 10 has already started, and even though official details are not yet available right now, information on the upcoming features arrives really often through various sources.

This time, a report that’s as uncanny as it is unexpected comes via The REM, which claims that Microsoft might actually launch a separate mail app for Windows Phone 10, that would allow the company to better capitalize on the popularity of the Hotmail brand.

The new app would come with Skype and Facebook support, so you would be able to send emails to your contacts quite easily, but chat options are also expected to be offered.

At this point, it all looks like Microsoft is working to bring all capabilities of the Outlook.com service in an email app, and while this makes sense, it’s hard to believe that the company would actually unbundle the Windows Phone Mail tool in favor of a separate solution.

Why it doesn’t make sense

First and foremost, Microsoft needs to offer users all essential tools they would need right in the operating system, and just like it happens with Android and iOS, Windows Phone needs its very own mail app.

Having users go to the store and download such an application isn’t quite the best option, especially in the case of those less tech-savvy.

At the same time, rebranding Outlook to Hotmail after the company killed the latter last year isn’t really smart, given the fact that Microsoft spent a fortune to make this happen and even killed its old email service in favor of the new one.

Why it makes sense

First and foremost, Microsoft has recently completed the acquisition of Acompli, the company behind a very popular Android and iOS mail app, so it’s only natural for the software giant to focus more on this kind of projects.

Then, a separate app in Windows Phone 10 would allow Microsoft to release updates much more often, so new features and configuration settings could be provided not only on its very own platform, but also on rival operating systems such as Android and iOS.

Then, using the Hotmail name might bring home the bacon after all, as there still are a lot of users out there who like this brand more than Outlook.

Obviously, don’t take any of these for granted because nobody can guarantee that Microsoft would go for such a dramatic change in Windows Phone 10, but don’t be too surprised if it indeed happens.

Windows Phone Mail app (8 Images)

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