Microsoft to unify OneNote apps on Windows into single experience

What you need to know

• Microsoft will unify the OneNote for Windows 10 and OneNote apps.
• The updated OneNote app will be free, just like the standalone version that's available now.
• People using OneNote for Windows 10 should receive an in-app invitation to update to the OneNote app in the second half of 2022.

Right now, there are two versions of OneNote available for Windows 10, the OneNote app that comes with Office and OneNote for Windows 10. Microsoft will unify these apps into a single OneNote experience. Microsoft explains in a Tech Community post that it is able to combine the apps thanks to improvements in Windows and Office.

The unification won't happen right away. Microsoft will ship a series of updates for OneNote over the next 12 months, including a visual refresh, a new navigational UI layout option, and improvements to inking.

In the future, people using the OneNote for Windows 10 app will receive an in-app invitation to update to the OneNote app. Microsoft anticipates that these invitations will start rolling out in the second half of 2022.

Microsoft's Tech Community post announcing the change has a section answering frequently asked questions. It clarifies that there isn't a third OneNote app coming. Instead, the current OneNote app is "evolving to include new features and key existing features from OneNote for Windows 10." Once that work is completed, people on OneNote for Windows 10 will receive an invitation to switch to the OneNote app.

The updated OneNote app will be free, just like the standalone version of OneNote currently available.

Even after people receive an invitation to move from OneNote for Windows 10, they'll have some time to transition. Like Windows 10 the operating system, OneNote for Windows 10 will reach its end of support in October 2025.