14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has finally confirmed that Outlook.com would be getting a dark theme, with the company explaining that this visual update is already in the works.
A dark theme for the email service is currently one of the top feature requests, and while the software giant previously presented a concept of what it could look like, a public release never happened.
But in a recent post on UserVoice Microsoft finally revealed that a dark theme is on its way, though it avoided providing any specifics as to when it could land.
“Thanks for your continual support of Outlook Web. We’ve actually been working on Dark Mode for a few months now and you can expect this in the product soon,” the Outlook team said.
“One reason for the delay is our insistence that we deliver the best Dark Mode of any leading email client (you’ll understand when you see it, I guarantee). The sneak preview you saw last year at Halloween was a prototype that required a lot more work to be ready for prime time. We’ve redesigned the colors and code multiple times and are proud to enter the final stretch.
Like you, we eagerly await the day this is finally available to the public. I am elated to announce that that day is very soon.”
The Outlook.com overhaul
Microsoft delivering more and more updates for Outlook.com has become a priority for the company, especially as it tries to keep up with what Google is doing with Gmail.
Outlook.com is often considered the top alternative to Gmail, and Microsoft wants to increase the potential of the service by delivering updates regularly. At this point, Outlook.com has some 400 million users across the world, but many of them are actually former Hotmail users who remained with Microsoft when the firm rebranded the service.
Outlook has also received a new design earlier this year, and now the dark theme should be going live for everyone by the end of 2018.