14 DAY TRIAL // The Mail app in Windows started as a pretty exciting project, but it was slowly converted into the kind of client that few people would use.
And it’s not only because of the lack of features and its overall stability and reliability, because the Mail app needs serious improvements in this regard, but due to the ads that have been introduced a long time ago and which have reportedly been refreshed with the addition of links to Office on the Web.
In theory, you wouldn’t necessarily expect a Microsoft app to have ads, but in practice, the Redmond-based software giant is using the Mail app to link to some of its other products, including Outlook mobile.
In fact, the addition of the banner to the mobile version of Outlook is one of the decisions that haven’t been very well received by the userbase out there, and yet, Microsoft eventually went for it anyway.
Shortcuts maybe?
This is the reason the Windows 10 Mail app sometimes still points users to the Outlook mobile app even if you already installed it on your Android device or iPhone.
But as per HTNovo, Microsoft has now included links to Office Web Apps, which are displayed next to a banner that recommends users to get a subscription for Office 365. Sure, Microsoft can always call these shortcuts to Office Web Apps, but what’s the point of making the UI of the Mail app more cluttered without even giving users the option to remove these shortcuts?
Maybe marketing is the answer, though for now, Microsoft has remained completely tight-lipped on the whole thing.
It remains to be seen if these links show up for everybody, as right now, my Mail app doesn’t include any shortcut to Office Web Apps, so the rollout might be happening gradually.