Samsung Calendar vs Outlook: Which Calendar App Is Better on Galaxy Devices

The latest Samsung devices come with two calendar apps – Google Calendar and Samsung’s built-in calendar. There’s also Microsoft Outlook, which integrates calendar too. The approach of all these three distinct apps is different. While you’d prefer a dedicated calendar app, but the lack of integration with other apps might be bothersome. Since Microsoft Outlook combines email and calendar, we’ve compared it with Samsung Calendar for you to get a better idea of which app to pick.

Samsung gradually improves Calendar features with each One UI update. You can also download the latest updates from the Galaxy App Store. Microsoft took a shortcut to improve Outlook Calendar’s functionalities. The company purchased the popular Sunrise Calendar and integrated the app with the Outlook Email app on Android and iPhone.

Cross-Platform Availability

As a part of Microsoft’s ‘Cloud First, Mobile First’ vision, the Outlook app is available on all platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Web. You get to enjoy the same user interface among all the platforms.

Samsung Calendar is limited to Galaxy devices only. You can’t use it on any other Android device as well.

User Interface

As its case with first-party Samsung apps out there, the default Calendar app looks and feels fresh. It works well even on phones with a tall display. Tap on the hamburger menu at the top, and you can view Year, Month, Week, and Day.

You will witness rounded corners in menus and sections throughout the Calendar UI, which complements the galaxy device corners.

If you have used the Sunrise Calendar in the past, you will find yourself right at home with Outlook. Thankfully, Microsoft hasn’t moved away from the core design much.

Create a New Event

Both the apps have covered the usual options to create an event on the go. Tap on the + icon at the bottom right corner, and you can create an event using Title, Date, Time, Notes, Location, and more. You can also color code an event for better visualization.

You can also add stickers to an event. For example, one can integrate a Cake sticker for the birthday event, a Beer sticker for the night party, or Notes sticker for the writing test, and more. Samsung has even categorized the stickers based on specific categories. Neat!

Microsoft Outlook allows you to add the event title, invite people, date, time, location, description, and more. We appreciate how Outlook offers the weather information to let you know about the weather condition before the event.

Widgets

Samsung has an edge over Outlook with widgets. Samsung’s calendar app lets you choose from three widget sizes – Countdown, List, and Monthly View. Most users will opt for the full-sized Month view that takes over the entire home screen.

Long-tap on the Month widget, and you can customize the look using the background color and transparency option. Samsung also allows you to add the widget on the Lock Screen. Enable the widget from the Settings > Lock screen > Widget. You can now tap on the clock icon on the lock screen and glance at the information.

Outlook also offers a couple of widgets. You can add the Calendar widget and directly jump to the Calendar section inside the app. Hopefully, the upcoming Android 12 update changes things for widgets.

Extra Features

Samsung Calendar allows you to enable week numbers and weather forecast details from the Settings menu. One can also lock the time and date of events to your selected time zone. Tap on the day, and Samsung will showcase a card-based UI to navigate through the day’s events.

Taking a page from Sunrise, Outlook has integrated third-party TV and Sports calendar in the app. Tap on the + icon in the hamburger menu and select Interesting Calendars, and you can add Sports event schedules from NBA, Cricket, MLS, NFL, and more. One can also add TV schedules from different regions around the world.

Outlook also allows you to add social calendars from Facebook and Evernote.

Manage Your Busy Day

Both Outlook and Samsung Calendar are excellent Calendar apps. Samsung offers better widgets, fun elements such as stickers and allows you to view entries from the lock screen. Outlook has cross-platform available, and the Sports calendar is a useful addition to the overall package. GT team uses it all the time to track the latest Tennis tournament schedules.

Next up: Getting confused between Samsung apps and Google apps? Read the comparison post below to find all the differences.