In February this year Microsoft acquired calendar app Sunrise for a rumored $100 million, with a view to reinvent the way people use calendars on mobile devices. The app integrated all your calendars into one easily manageable calendar.

Microsoft has just revealed that Sunrise will now become part Outlook, and once the integration is complete that will be the end of Sunrise as we know it. In a blog post Microsoft said, “Over the coming months, you’ll see richer calendar experiences come to Outlook from Sunrise—including Interesting Calendars and connections to your favorite apps and services. You will also see improvements to Outlook’s ability to create meetings while on the go and handle meetings across time zones. All of this means Outlook will eventually replace the current Sunrise app.”

Microsoft also said that Outlook for iOS and Android, used by a reported 30 million people connecting 1.2 billion times in a month, will be getting a facelift as well as other tweaks. For iOS Microsoft said that the changes are mostly to the user interface, with the app now giving users visual cues to help them process information. Navigation has been made easier with key features more prominent; users will be more aware of what command to tap next and so saving people time.

The Android version of the Outlook app will implement Material Design, again making certain features more prominent so that users can glide through emails with less hassle noting read and unread messages and seeing invitations. The Calendar Agenda user interface has been improved, making information easier to scan, while Event details and People list have been given a new Material look.

Updates for Outlook iOS will begin today, while Android users will have to wait sometime until the first half of November to see changes. The company says it is taking on board what users want, and by going to Settings and Suggest a Feature, people can put forward their ideas.

Photo credit: Microsoft