Microsoft Confirms Windows 8.1 Will Include Outlook For Windows RT

Microsoft Outlook will finally arrive on Windows RT devices as part of the upcoming Windows 8.1 update announced last month.

The absence of the email client on the version of Windows 8 designed for ARM-based architecture has been a cause for criticism, along with its apparent incompatibility with POP3 email.

Tami Reller, CFO and CMO of Microsoft Windows Division, made the announcement at Computex in Taiwan, promising that Outlook RT would offer a proper touch experience for users along with a streamlined interface.

Outlook RT Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is due to be made available to users as a free update later this year via the Windows Store and hopes to address many of the problems that users have found with the operating system, which was released last October. By announcing Outlook RT now, Microsoft will hope to attract tablet buyers before the rollout of the update.

Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of Windows Program Management, also took to the stage at Computex to give the first public demo of Windows 8.1, while the firm also gave a preview of some of the upcoming features at the TechEd 2013 conference in New Orleans earlier this week.

Windows 8.1 will improve in-built apps, offer more personalisation options, enhance multitasking and restore the start button, but not all of the functionality of previous versions.

Microsoft says that the update, which was created in response to customer feedback, bit defended many of the changes which critics have argued have been forced on users. A preview version of Windows 8.1 will be launched on 26 June.

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