Hands on with Windows 10 for phones' new Outlook and calendar apps

Microsoft has released a new build of Windows 10 for phones and included in this update are new Outlook and calendar apps. If you were not able to download the new build today but are curious what the new apps look like, we have you covered with a gallery below.

The first thing you will notice with these apps is that they do away with the design language that Windows Phone previously used. Gone are the pivots and carousel-style apps in favor or more traditional design elements.

The new Outlook app brings all of your email accounts into one location and features a simple but familiar layout. In the top left is a hamburger menu that opens up a panel to allow you to jump between email accounts. At the bottom of this window are the settings and calendar buttons too. Along the top of the Outlook app are three buttons: search, refresh and a 'plus' button to create a new email.

Once you're at the inbox view, swiping to the left will allow you to delete an email and swiping to the right enables you to quickly flag a message. Messages are separated with a horizontal gray bar, sorting the messages into groups of which day the emails arrived.

When you enter the composition mode, at the bottom are a set of ellipses that you can tap on to open the formatting options for the message. Everything from font selection to numbered lists can be selected here to help you create the desired look for your email.

The app has all of the basic features you would expect in an email client and appears to work well. We didn't have any big issues with stability and found that writing emails was a pretty simple process.

Also new in this release is the calendar app. Besides receiving a visual overhaul, it's a basic calendar with all the features you have come to expect form such a calendar. The calendar app is a bit more buggy (when compared to the Outlook app) as it's quite hard to see your calendar at a 'month' view, because the touch-button to expand the calendar is about the size of a pinhead. When you are able to expand the calendar the scrolling is jittery and far from a smooth experience -- there is still work to be done here.

Overall, both apps work for their intended purpose and, considering this is the first iteration of the apps, by the time RTM rolls around, they should be ready for prime time.