Forum Discussion
Does Outlook Legacy work on Snapdragon Chips?
To answer your question: Yes, Outlook Legacy (the classic desktop version included with Microsoft 365 or Office 2021) works on the Surface Laptop 7 with the Snapdragon X Elite chip.
While the "New Outlook" is a web-based app that runs natively, the classic Outlook app runs through Windows 11’s Prism emulation layer. On the Snapdragon X Elite, the performance is remarkably smooth—you likely won't even notice it's being emulated. Most business users are sticking with the classic version for features like PST file support, COM add-ins, and offline functionality, all of which function as expected on ARM-based hardware.
If you are choosing between Intel and Snapdragon, the Surface Laptop 7 offers significantly better battery life and thermal management, which is a huge plus if you are coming from a Mac background. I was actually comparing the productivity benchmarks of the Snapdragon Elite against Intel's latest offerings on this https://www.techlandbd.com/shop-laptop-computer/brand-laptops, and for office workflows involving classic Outlook, the ARM transition is finally seamless.
One tip: Make sure you install the 64-bit version of Office/Microsoft 365, as the emulation layer handles it much more efficiently than the older 32-bit versions. Enjoy the switch back to PC!