Using Classic Outlook on Windows for personal email, calendar, and contact management
Hey everyone. Microsoft just released a new version of Outlook and Office, Version 2401 (Build 17231.20236), and it appears to have resolved the issue with the much maligned App Search box.
Everything is explained by them at this link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/outlook-unexpectedly-has-an-app-search-bar-above-the-message-list-c1bed629-0d4e-42d4-b66e-877cccb74b47
Choose File-->Office Account-->Update Options-->Update Now to force your Office to update right away. Mine took a very long time for some reason, perhaps because of their server being heavily loaded.
Enjoy.