After promising it in March to Office 365 business users, Microsoft has finally taken the wrapper off a native Outlook Web App for Android. The new pre-release app features all the same capabilities as OWA for iPhone released last July; it’s available now in Google Play.
The navigation screen in OWA for Android.
You can use the app to access your Office 365 for business email, calendar, and contacts. Viewing email is similar to Microsoft’s Outlook.com for Android, and the Calendar and People sections share a similar design.
For now, Microsoft is limiting OWA for Android avaiability to a select number of devices. To be eligible to use the app, your device must be running Android 4.4 KitKat, and the Android OS must consider your phone to have a small or normal-sized display. Your mailbox also must be running the latest version of Office 365 for business.
Before Thursday’s OWA for Android rollout, Office 365 business users were stuck depending on Android’s native mail client or the Office 365 web app. Neither of the two options are great—as one of our editors said this morning the web app is “an all-around fugly pain to use.”
Microsoft says it will expand OWA for Android compatibility to more devices during the pre-release period. The company is also asking for feedback as it tweaks the app and fixes any bugs that pop up.