Microsoft kills off Outlook.com Premium, bundles features into Office 365

Microsoft is bringing Outlook.com premium features like no ads to its Office 365 subscribers today. The software giant is killing its separate Outlook.com Premium service ($49.95 per year) as a result, so if you want ad-free Outlook.com you’ll now need to subscribe to Office 365. If you’re already subscribed then the changes are automatic starting today, and the features are all part of Office 365 now.

Ad-free browsing of Outlook.com Premium is the biggest feature, but Office 365 subscribers will also get more mailbox storage. All Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers will be upgraded to 50GB of mailbox storage space if they’re already using 12GB or more. Microsoft is also including better malware scanning security, and free technical support for Outlook.com email accounts. If you share an Office 365 Home subscription then every member will get these new benefits starting today.

Custom domain support in Outlook.com Premium will only live on for existing customers. “The Outlook.com Premium standalone offering is now closed to new subscribers,” reads a support document. “Current subscribers can renew their subscriptions to continue receiving subscription benefits.” A separate support document suggests Microsoft will continue to support custom domains for existing subscribers, but that it’s working on a feature to “enable you to transfer your domain to other providers.”

:story: The Verge