The move away from the legacy desktop app is because Microsoft will launch Office 2019 this year. Part of the suite’s updates is a new UI design which will extend to OneNote. The company wants all versions of the app to be the same across Windows. That obviously means Microsoft will push its UWP version over the older legacy app. With that in mind, a new version of OneNote is available on the Inside in preview. Version 16001.10325.20023.0 comes with the modern design elements of Office 2019. Back in April when Microsoft announced its plans, William Devereaux explained: “Beginning with the launch of Office 2019 later this year, OneNote for Windows 10 will replace OneNote 2016 as the default OneNote experience for both Office 365 and Office 2019. Why OneNote for Windows 10? The app has improved performance and reliability, and it’s powered by a brand new sync engine (which we’re also bringing to web, Mac, iOS, and Android).” Many users prefer the older OneNote version and don’t want to switch. Microsoft has said they can continue to use the old app and even use it with the UWP application.
Upcoming Features
Through Office 2019, Microsoft is also making some feature upgrades to OneNote. Specifically, the following features are coming to the app:
“Insert and search for tags: OneNote 2016’s popular tags feature is coming to OneNote for Windows 10! Soon you’ll be able to insert, create, and search for custom tags, making it easy to mark key information and find it later. Tags you create will now roam with you to across your devices, and the app will even show you tags other people have used in a shared notebook so you don’t have to recreate them yourself. The new tags experience was designed based on your feedback, and it will be available later this summer. View and edit files: See live previews of Office files, work together on attached documents, and save space in your notebooks with cloud files. You’ll get all the benefits of saving a file on One Drive with the context and convenience of an attachment or preview on a OneNote page. Additional Class Notebook features: The full slate of Class Notebook features available in the add-on for OneNote 2016 will be available in OneNote for Windows 10 this summer. Best of all, you no longer need to install a separate add-in—it’s all built-in!”
