As a type designer, I would have opted for one of the other five typefaces on the shortlist – either Skeena or Seaford. They have both lots more character than Aptos. But the corporate designer in me says uniqueness doesn't always need to be the top priority. His first question is, What function does the type serve? And does it suit today's modern media? As a default typeface, especially for Office applications, Aptos fulfills all the requirements. It's a variable font, so it performs a number of tasks extremely well. In the age of digital work Aptos ensures that body copy can be easily edited onscreen over the long run. Looks impeccable in print, too.  

 

Stylistically, the transition from Calibri to Aptos won't be very noticeable. But typographically, the optical sizes of Aptos make it a more functional typeface. It's simple, user-friendly, goes with everything – with Aptos, Microsoft is harking back to the days of Arial, and in the global context, is now falling in line with Apple's San Francisco and Google's Roboto, both of which already use neo-grotesque fonts as their standard. 

 

Aptos does have one little shortcoming. If you take DIN 1450 legibility as a benchmark, it is a step backwards. The closed character of the letters makes them less distinguishable, whereas Calibri ensures better legibility thanks to the clearer differentiation of its letters. 

 

Read Sven's statement in the article of Absatzwirtschaft: "Bye-bye Calibri, hallo Aptos!"