What Happened to Sunrise Calendar?

Sunrise Calendar emerged in 2013 as a fresh contender in the mobile calendar space, quickly gaining popularity for its intuitive design, seamless integration with various services like Google Calendar, iCloud, and social networks, and features like natural language event creation and 'Interest Calendars'. Developed by Pierre Valade and Jeremy Le Van, former Foursquare designers, it aimed to reinvent how people managed their time on mobile devices.

In a strategic move to bolster its mobile productivity offerings, Microsoft acquired Sunrise Atelier, Inc., the company behind Sunrise Calendar, in February 2015. The acquisition was reportedly for over $100 million. This followed Microsoft's earlier purchase of the email app Acompli, which was rebranded as Outlook Mobile. The goal was to integrate best-in-class mobile experiences into Microsoft's ecosystem, particularly Outlook, to create a more comprehensive and delightful productivity suite.

The integration process began shortly after the acquisition, with the Sunrise team officially merging into the broader Microsoft Outlook product team by October 2015. Microsoft announced that the standalone Sunrise app would be discontinued, and its beloved features would be incorporated into Outlook Mobile. This decision, while disappointing to many loyal Sunrise users, was part of Microsoft's vision to consolidate its mobile efforts and offer an all-in-one email and calendar solution.

The standalone Sunrise Calendar app officially ceased functioning on September 13, 2016, a slight delay from the initially planned August 31st date. Concurrently, Microsoft rolled out significant updates to Outlook for iOS and Android, introducing many of Sunrise's key functionalities, such as improved date and time pickers, event icons, and integrated maps for locations. The 'Calendar Apps' feature in Outlook also allowed users to sync events from services like Facebook and reminders from Wunderlist (another Microsoft acquisition), reflecting Sunrise's strength in third-party integrations.

As of March 2026, Sunrise Calendar as a distinct product no longer exists. However, its legacy is deeply embedded in Microsoft Outlook's mobile and desktop calendar experiences. Microsoft continues to evolve Outlook, with recent updates in late 2025 and early 2026 focusing on enhancing calendar functionality. For instance, an update effective January 31, 2026, changed how Outlook automatically adds events from emails, now relying on the Schema.org markup format. Furthermore, the 'new Outlook' for Windows is undergoing a phased rollout, with the final cutover, eliminating the option to revert to classic Outlook, scheduled for 2026 and beyond, signifying Microsoft's commitment to a unified, modern Outlook experience across all platforms. Recent updates in February 2026 for Outlook for Windows include the ability to delete and cancel calendar events offline and updated calendar event forms, demonstrating ongoing development in the calendar space.