Microsoft Office 2021 for Windows and Mac coming soon

[silversurfer]

Microsoft revealed plans to release a new Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release of Microsoft Office for Windows and Mac devices today.

Microsoft Office 2021 will be the successor of Office 2019, and supported for five years from the day of its official release. Office 2019 and the upcoming Office 2021 are single-device products that are purchased with a one-time payment.

The new version of Office will introduce new features and improvements in the application. Office LTSC is feature-locked when it is released; Microsoft will release security and bug-fix updates but the application suite won't receive constant feature updates like Windows 10 or Microsoft 365 after its release.

New Office LTSC features will include accessibility improvements, capabilities like Dynamic Arrays and XLOOKUP in Excel, dark mode support across multiple apps, and performance improvements across Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

The new Office ships with Microsoft Teams and not Skype for Business client. The latter is available as a standalone download on Microsoft's Download Center website.

Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, made the announcement on the official Microsoft 365 blog, and it comes as no surprise that Microsoft considers Office 2021 suitable for "a limited set of specific situations" only in Enterprise and business environments.

"We have built Office LTSC for a limited set of specific situations: regulated devices that cannot accept feature updates for years at a time, process control devices on the manufacturing floor that are not connected to the internet, and specialty systems that must stay locked in time and require a long-term servicing channel."

Microsoft Office 2021 for Windows and Mac will be released later this year - gHacks Tech News

Microsoft revealed plans to release a new Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release of Microsoft Office for Windows and Mac devices today.

www.ghacks.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

We Finally Know When Microsoft Office 2021 Will Launch:

We recently learned when Windows 11 would launch, and now we’ve discovered the release date for Microsoft Office 2021 for consumers. It turns out, Microsoft will release the latest version of its beloved Office software on October 5, 2021.

According to The Verge, the latest version of Office will launch on the same day as Windows 11 is set to start rolling out to eligible users.

Microsoft didn’t announce much in the way of details for Office 2021, so we’re not sure exactly what it’ll bring to the table to make it worth upgrading. Additionally, Microsft didn’t announce pricing for Office 2021, but we’d expect the company to reveal that critical detail soon, as the release date is less than a month away.

The company also pushed Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) for Windows and Mac for commercial and government users today. This release did come with some new features that should also come to Microsoft Office 2021 for consumers.

Some of the new features include an XLOOKUP function, Dynamic array support, a dark mode, and a Line Focus feature. It doesn’t sound like it features anything too game-changing, but other new features could be added for the final Office 2021 consumer release that aren’t in the LTSC version.

Anyone who subscribes to Microsoft 365 will get these new features automatically. This new version only applies to people who purchase one-off licenses for Office.

We Finally Know When Microsoft Office 2021 Will Launch

Microsoft Office 2021 has a release date...

www.howtogeek.com

 

[Bill K]

As a current user of Office 2019 Professional Plus I don't understand why MS Office software licenses don't support free updates to newer versions released just like they do with Windows OS. Of course it's an opportunity for MS to make more money if users buy the new version, but they don't do that with Windows and I'm not sure why it's different for their Office software. I'd be curious to know other's thoughts on this, TIA.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

As a current user of Office 2019 Professional Plus I don't understand why MS Office software licenses don't support free updates to newer versions released just like they do with Windows OS. Of course it's an opportunity for MS to make more money if users buy the new version, but they don't do that with Windows and I'm not sure why it's different for their Office software. I'd be curious to know other's thoughts on this, TIA.

Microsoft wants you to subscribe to Office / Microsoft 365.

What's the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 2021? - Microsoft Support

Learn about the differences between a Microsoft 365 subscription, Office 2016, and the free Office Online apps.

support.microsoft.com

Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that makes sure you always have the most up-to-date modern productivity tools from Microsoft. There are Microsoft 365 plans for home and personal use, as well as for small and midsized businesses, large enterprises, schools, and non-profits.

Office 2019 is sold as a one-time purchase, which means you pay a single, up-front cost to get Office apps for one computer. One-time purchases are available for both PCs and Macs. However, there are no upgrade options, which means if you plan to upgrade to the next major release, you'll have to buy it at full price.

 

[oldschool]

I guess my M$ Office 2007 Enterprise is getting a little old.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

I guess my M$ Office 2007 Enterprise is getting a little old.

Yes:

Office 2007 reached its end of support on October 10, 2017. If you haven't already begun to upgrade your Office 2007 environment, we recommend you start now.

Plan an upgrade from older versions of Office to Microsoft 365 Apps - Microsoft 365 Apps

Provides recommendations, information, and links to help administrators and IT Pros in large enterprises plan their upgrades to Microsoft 365 Apps from older versions of Office, such as Office 2016 and Office 2013.

docs.microsoft.com

If you only need some basic stuff SoftMaker FreeOffice could be a good solution (used without any problems by my parents).

www.freeoffice.com - FreeOffice for Windows, Mac and Linux

FreeOffice, the full-featured free Office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux

www.freeoffice.com

 

[Chuck57]

I guess my M$ Office 2007 Enterprise is getting a little old.

I upgraded my Office 2007 a few months ago - to WPS Office.

 

[Evjl's Rain]

I guess my M$ Office 2007 Enterprise is getting a little old.

you are not alone . I just downgraded my office 2013 and 2016 to version 2010
immediate impression: the file opening speed is doubled-tripled
all tweaks to speed up office are applied

after every update, I feel the file opening time is doubled. I couldn't tolerate office 2016

 

[Aleeyen]

Pro Plus RTM Link

https://officecdn.microsoft.com/db/492350f6-3a01-4f97-b9c0-c7c6ddf67d60/media/en-us/ProPlus2021Retail.img

 

[silversurfer]

Microsoft announced a new version of its Office product, Microsoft Office 2021, and a new Long-Term Servicing Channel version, Office LTSC 2021, earlier this year.

The company revealed yesterday that Office LTSC 2021 is now available, and that Office 2021 will be available on October 5, 2021. Both versions complement the company's cloud offerings in the Office space.

Office LTSC 2021 is designed for Enterprise customers, organizations, and business customers. The version of Office will be supported for 5 years by Microsoft, the same support length that the next Windows Enterprise LTSC releases get when they are released. Microsoft did support Windows 10 LTSC for 10 years previously, but decided to sync the support range for its Office and Windows LTSC products. Yes, syncing could also have been set to 10 years for both products, but Microsoft picked the 5-year support range instead.

Microsoft Office 2021 will be released on October 5, 2021 - gHacks Tech News

Microsoft announced a new version of its Office product, Microsoft Office 2021, and a new Long-Term Servicing Channel version, Office LTSC 2021, earlier this year.

www.ghacks.net

 

[Bill K]

Pro Plus RTM Link

https://officecdn.microsoft.com/db/492350f6-3a01-4f97-b9c0-c7c6ddf67d60/media/en-us/ProPlus2021Retail.img

Thanks for the link! Am I correct that installation/activation will require a new Office 2021 license, or would a license from Office 2019 ProPlus work? TIA

 

[amirr]

Thanks for the link too.

 

[Aleeyen]

Thanks for the link! Am I correct that installation/activation will require a new Office 2021 license, or would a license from Office 2019 ProPlus work? TIA

Yes, it will require new license as far I know. Or they can just make it like Win 10

 

[SeriousHoax]

I guess my M$ Office 2007 Enterprise is getting a little old.

Here I am relaxing with the free LibreOffice

 

[Bill K]

Here I am relaxing with the free LibreOffice

A primary driver for many users keeping them on MS Office is Outlook, since no open source software I'm aware of can support existing MS Outlook data files which often contain years of personal files which are still needed for reference. The Outlook data file can contain historical email as well as contacts and calendar events which many users don't want to lose access to. If anyone's aware of a way to convert the Outlook *.pst file to another supported format for open source software I'd be happy to learn about it.

 

[oldschool]

Here I am relaxing with the free LibreOffice

How do you like it?

 

[SeriousHoax]

How do you like it?

It's good. Gets the job done for me and should be more secured than MS Office. If I have to send a doc/excel/ppt file edited in it to someone, I check it out in MS Office online (which is free) to see if there's any compatibility issue (usually it doesn't cause any issue, specially for things written in English). I can't afford MS Office for my personal use so if I have to use it then I'll have to use a pirated version. Though I know how to safely activate Office using an openly available open source activation tool (even used it in early 2021), I try not to use any pirated apps unless there's no other workable alternative available (Movies and some games doesn't count).

A primary driver for many users keeping them on MS Office is Outlook, since no open source software I'm aware of can support existing MS Outlook data files which often contain years of personal files which are still needed for reference. The Outlook data file can contain historical email as well as contacts and calendar events which many users don't want to lose access to. If anyone's aware of a way to convert the Outlook *.pst file to another supported format for open source software I'd be happy to learn about it.

Yeah, Outlook is a different thing. I was talking about office for doc, excel, ppt files only. Even here in almost every office, Outlook is used as the email client. Like you said, It's pretty much unmatched.

 

[amirr]

Pro Plus RTM Link

https://officecdn.microsoft.com/db/492350f6-3a01-4f97-b9c0-c7c6ddf67d60/media/en-us/ProPlus2021Retail.img

@jogs Does this comes with the new UI as mentioned on:

Visual update in Office for Windows now available in Current Channel (Preview)

We are excited to announce the availability of the visual update of Office for Windows to 100% of Office Insiders running Current Channel (Preview) builds.

insider.office.com

if I install this on Windows 10 Pro?

 

[Aleeyen]

@jogs Does this comes with the new UI as mentioned on:

Visual update in Office for Windows now available in Current Channel (Preview)

We are excited to announce the availability of the visual update of Office for Windows to 100% of Office Insiders running Current Channel (Preview) builds.

insider.office.com

if I install this on Windows 10 Pro?

I can't say, because I have not used it myself. But it should have a new UI.

 

[Vasudev]

As a current user of Office 2019 Professional Plus I don't understand why MS Office software licenses don't support free updates to newer versions released just like they do with Windows OS. Of course it's an opportunity for MS to make more money if users buy the new version, but they don't do that with Windows and I'm not sure why it's different for their Office software. I'd be curious to know other's thoughts on this, TIA.

As a cheapskate, I always hope we get version bump for a license bought from ebay for 10$. But, MSFT really knows our behaviour that's the reason they force users to subscription model.