Microsoft quietly introduced the launch of Outlook Lite for Android, a streamlined model of the corporate’s electronic mail service designed to make use of much less battery and cupboard space than the default Outlook app with out sacrificing options or efficiency.

Specifically, Microsoft says that Outlook Lite has all the principle options of the Outlook expertise neatly packed right into a 5MB app that is optimized for velocity, even on lower-end Android gadgets. The firm says the app was designed to run quick on gadgets with as little as 1GB of RAM, use much less battery influence than the total app and provide good efficiency on older 2G and 3G networks.

That decrease knowledge, storage and battery influence is, after all, the purpose. And Microsoft is not alone: pared down, light-weight apps serve an enormous market of customers with funds gadgets on older networks. That’s why Google gives Android Go, a pared down model of the cell OS designed particularly for lower-end telephones, and why Meta has put a lot effort into constructing small, however feature-rich variations of its Instagram and Facebook apps. You can discover light-weight apps for Twitter, Tiktok and even Tinder. 

Like most light-weight apps, this one has its caveats. Microsoft’s new mail app does not reduce any main options to earn its ‘lite’ moniker, but it surely will not work with as many electronic mail suppliers as the first Outlook app. At current, Outlook Lite is just suitable with Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, MSN, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Exchange Online accounts. Likewise, the app is also only available in select countries, together with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela — although Microsoft says it could add help for extra areas sooner or later.