The future of OneNote under Windows 10 has been more and more like a rollercoaster ride in recent years. First, OneNote 2016 was put into maintenance mode in favour of the Universal App, before Microsoft tried the role backwards just about a year later. OneNote for Windows 10 is now in maintenance mode itself, while OneNote 2016 returned to Office 365 and got new functions again.
In the next 12 months, OneNote Desktop will experience significant improvements in several other areas in addition to the visual changes that the sister projects such as Word and Excel will also get. In some cases this concerns completely new functions, in some cases key functions that are currently only available in OneNote for Windows 10 are to be ported to the normal desktop application. Microsoft intends to publish the exact list of all functions that will come from the universal app to the classic desktop app in an upcoming blog post. The central goal is to have a real OneNote app for Windows again from summer 2022. The versions for iOS / iPadOS, macOS and Android as well as the web version are not affected.
OneNote for Windows 10 will remain available for the time being and will continue to be provided with bug fixes and security updates. Microsoft is currently also expressly recommending not to switch if you are currently working mainly with the universal app, as the Redmond-based company is currently taking various precautions to make the transition as smooth and problem-free as possible. A corresponding invitation to switch should pop up in the Universal App in the second half of 2022 when this work has been completed.
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