Why is the “Play My Emails” feature being removed from Outlook for iPhone in June 2024?

Anonymous
2024-05-24T21:26:31+00:00

Why is the Play My Emails Feature in the Outlook email app for iPhone being retired in June 2024?

I use this application on my phone for work on a daily basis. We’re often on the go without access to a computer with windows 11 installed.

Is there a plan to replace/upgrade this feature in the app?

The first time I heard about this was on 5/24/23, less than a week before the feature is going to be removed. No other information was provided via the message in the app.

Thank you for your assistance.

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for iOS | For home

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-06-22T17:11:32+00:00

    The decision to remove the Play My Emails feature is in my opinion a very poor and insensitive decision by Microsoft! This was an important assistive technology feature and stripping it away makes it all the more difficult for individuals with visual impairments, reading disabilities, cognitive disabilities and motor disabilities to manage and listen to their emails.  This is honestly backwards and irresponsible. Just think of all the people with these disabilities and how they will be affected because of this feature removal.

    Not to mention it has hands down one of the best voices and TTS capabilities IMHO - the Cortana voice is so realistic and reads with such excellent pronunciation and tenor; I’ve tried many TTS voices and the Cortana voice is one of the best ; it does not read URLs, mentions lists in text before they are read, never inadvertently speaks with an accent of another language (like when a Spanish or French word is in text). 

    I like others used this daily to read long emails and it saved me hours each day.

    DONT DISCONTINUE!

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-06-13T04:06:19+00:00

    This is a terrible decision by Microsoft. I used this feature twice a day while driving. Best way for me to keep up on all my emails. Please bring back this feature.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-28T01:28:49+00:00

    Like the many business users that commented before me, I strongly object to this ill-justified decision to discontinue the most valuable feature (without a replacement) that without it will cause productive business executives and managers to lose several working hours per day. As this is unacceptable, I expect most of us will find a replacement solution for Outlook. This decision certainly questions who is managing Microsoft. Very disappointing.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-06-10T14:13:31+00:00

    Hello. I use the "play my emails" feature in Outlook Mobile on a daily basis to listen to my emails during my commute. It saves me 1-2 hours per day and helps me keep up on my email. It is a very useful feature and I am disappointed to hear that it will be discontinued. What plans does Microsoft have to replace this feature in Outlook Mobile? Thanks.

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-06-12T20:02:46+00:00

    I was really disappointed to discover the Play my emails feature had been discontinued. Like many others, i use this daily on my commute to keep on top of my emails. This saves me a couple hours a day! For me this is a major backward step. MS, please provide a replacement soon! Thank you

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