Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been actively targeting Apple Mac users for a couple of years now. To pump up its efforts Microsoft has rolled up few new premium features for Outlook for Mac. Till now, these features were reserved only for Outlook.com, Office 365 and Exchange email address. Going further Mac users can sync their Google Calendar and Contact with Outlook.
The new rollout means anyone with Gmail account can take the advantage of power features of Outlook, including Focused Inbox, and rich experience of travel reservation and package delivery.
The new features of Outlook for Mac allow any of the Mac users to delete, add or update events in Google Calendar through Outlook for Mac. These features were previously available for Microsoft’s Office Insider Fast Community only. The new update will ensure that any change will reflect in desktop software, Gmail or Outlook for Mac and keep all the three in synched with each other.
Why Is Microsoft Targeting Mac Users
The strong sales of Mac systems in the last few quarters have apparently caught the eyeballs of Microsoft’s executives. In Desktop market, Mac is the second is the most popular OS, albeit with single digit market share. However, in the last one year, Apple has strengthened its Mac presence in the market, consequently, the quarterly sales share of Mac swelled to 6.8% in Q1 2017 from 6.2% in the year-ago quarter.
Apple has also boosted its efforts to push Mac powered devices in emerging marketers in a bid to grab a sizable chunk of the market. The company has tied up with many banks and financial institutions to make the device available on EMIs. Besides, by leveraging on its brand’s value, Apple has reduced the price of older models of Mac by 30%-40% in marketers, like India, where users are still fascinated of owning an Apple device.
if you are a Mac user and willing to ditch Apple’s iMail to test new updates of Outlook for Mac with your Gmail account, you need to visit the Microsoft’s preview website and click on Download button. This will install the latest preview of Outlook 2016 for Mac. The free version, however, is available only until June 30, 20017.
