Last week Microsoft released a new App Launcher GUI for first release Office 365 tenants. The new GUI emphasizes most recently used apps and will be rolled out to all tenants by early 2018.
Screenshot and details below. Cheers!
MC124492
Stay Informed
Published On : November 7, 2017
We’re updating the Office 365 app launcher. We’re beginning to roll out to first release organizations today. This message is associated with Office 365 Roadmap ID: 20465. The new Office 365 app launcher is a personalized and simple way to help your users open and switch between the apps they use most.
How does this affect me?
The apps your users see in the new app launcher are still based on the licenses you have assigned. However, the redesigned main view now emphasizes the most used applications across Office 365. It also highlights additional apps relevant to your users. For example, teachers and students may see education-specific apps. This rollout to First Release is in progress, and the roll out to the rest of the world is expected to complete early 2018. With the new app launcher, a user’s main view will include a default set of apps. While the new app launcher is in First Release, we will also pin any additional apps that user has opened in the last couple of days. When the app launcher rolls out beyond First Release, we will have more data to pin any additional apps that a user has opened within the last 30 days. After the first time your users see the new launcher, apps in the main view will stay the same, unless a user chooses to customize their apps or an administrator adds or removes licenses. If you have difficulty finding an app, click “All apps” and search through the alphabetized list of apps available.
What do I need to do to prepare for this change?
Please consider updating your user training, and notifying your helpdesk. Please click Additional information to view the Admin overview video and other resources.
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=856800
What happened to the Mail, Calendar, People and Tasks tiles?
Access to all Outlook modules is now consolidated in the main view of the app launcher with a single tile called Outlook that opens Mail. People, Calendar, and Tasks can be accessed through the menu in the lower-left corner of the Outlook app (beneath the folders), just like on the desktop. Direct access is also available with individual Calendar, People and Tasks tiles in the ALL apps view, and the tiles can be pinned to the main view of the app launcher, like other apps. Additionally, if a user clicked on Calendar, People, or Tasks directly in the previous 30 days*, we will automatically pin that tile to their main view. See Can I pin admin custom tiles to the main view of the launcher for my organization? for questions about the First Release experience for pinning apps outside of defaults.
