After beta-testing a major update to its web-based email client Outlook.com for the past six months, Microsoft Corp. says it’s all set to release the new version to the masses.

Microsoft officials said Wednesday that Outlook.com users would be moved to the new experience over the next few weeks. In addition, the company is launching beta tests for the Calendar and People or contacts list features in Outlook.com.

The most striking difference is that Outlook.com’s new user interface is much more colorful than the one it replaces. It’s also more customizable, with better ways to categorize emails and access various settings, Microsoft said. The Skype integration has also been updated so it’s easier to chat or call contacts from inside the Outlook UI.

Other updates include the ability to access “add-ins” for Boomerang, Evernote, GIPHY, Gfycat, Microsoft Translator, MojiLaLa, PayPal, Trello and more directly from the inbox page. Users can also easily turn off or on features such as Focused Inbox and Conversation View.

View of the new Outlook.com user interface (Source: Microsoft)

As for the Calendar beta, Microsoft said this will be made available to all Outlook.com users immediately. The redesigned service makes it faster to add events and details to the calendar. Meanwhile, the updated People service comes with new profile cards that make it easier to create, view and edit contacts.

To access the betas, Outlook.com users click on the “Try the Beta” button that has been added to the top right of their inboxes.

Main image: Michael Kappel/Flickr