Microsoft developing a unified OneNote for Windows app with a contemporary design

Image Courtesy: Business Standard

Microsoft intends to merge its OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 applications into a single OneNote application. All of the enhancements made in the UWP OneNote for Windows 10 app are being carried over to the old OneNote desktop app.

These enhancements will be sent out in a series of upgrades to the conventional OneNote desktop software that comes with Office over the following 12 months. The upgrades include an aesthetic makeover as well as “important existing functionality that are currently exclusive to OneNote for Windows 10.” It is unclear whether features from OneNote for Windows 10 will be carried over to the OneNote desktop software, but Microsoft states that “we are working to guarantee that all of the most popular features will remain a part of OneNote.”

Existing OneNote for Windows 10 app users will be invited to upgrade to the full desktop OneNote software in the second half of 2022. “Advances in Windows and Office will enable us to combine the two applications so that you’ll have the simplicity of a single OneNote app on Windows while enjoying the interface and functionality you’re currently acquainted with,” the OneNote team says.

While Microsoft will not discontinue the UWP version of OneNote for Windows 10, the firm does advise OneNote users to migrate to the desktop app by October 2025, when OneNote for Windows 10 will approach end of support.

Microsoft’s other OneNote programmes for macOS, iOS, Android, and the web will not be affected by these changes to OneNote on Windows. It’s just Microsoft combining its many OneNote applications into one that should combine the best of both the UWP and desktop worlds.