Office 2016 for Mac has gone a long way to bringing Mac users the same experience as those running on Microsoft’s own Windows platform. Gone are the days of Office for Mac having its own user interface and feature set, and now Mac owners can even take part in the same Office Insider preview program as Windows users.
Outlook 2016 has seen as much of an overhaul as any Office application for MacOS and now Microsoft is bringing enhanced support for Google Calendar and Contacts to the Mac. If you’re a part of the Office Insider Fast Ring community, then the most recent update lets you use more of what Google has to offer in the way of managing your time and relationships.
Up until now, Outlook 2016 for Mac only supported connecting to and managing Gmail accounts. That meant Mac users could get access to their Google email, but nothing else. Now, Microsoft is adding the ability to sync Google Calendar and Contact accounts as well, with the same add, delete, and time and location editing functionality as was previously available only with Outlook.
In addition, Outlook 2016 for Mac also now supports some Gmail-specific Outlook.com, Office 365, and Exchange email features as well. First is the new Focused Inbox functionality that breaks email messages into “Focused” and “Other” tabs based on what Microsoft’s machine intelligence decides is important and urgent email. Outlook 2016 for Mac also now supports the same rich experiences for travel reservations and package deliveries that have been arriving for other Microsoft email clients.
As is often the case, you will need to be an Office Insider in the Fast Ring to gain the earliest access to these new features. You can sign up to be an Office Insider by opening Outlook 2016 for Mac, going to Help > Check for Updates, and following these instructions. Not everyone will gain immediate access to the complete Google account support right away, however, as Microsoft will be monitoring the experience and inviting specific users. You will be prompted to add the support when you are added to the list.
