Microsoft announces Office 2021 at the same price as Office 2019

Microsoft has announced plans to release a consumer version of Office 2021, a standalone version of Microsoft 365 that will include some, but not all, of the features of Microsoft’s constantly updated cloud productivity service. This may be the first standalone version of Office to ship with Microsoft Teams as a standard feature.

Microsoft will release Office 2021 for personal and small business users “later this year,” Microsoft said in a blog post Thursday evening. Microsoft has said that it does not plan to change the prices for this new version, which means that the cheapest version of Office 2021 will be $ 150, the price Microsoft charges for Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019.Remove non-product link (This version doesn’t include Microsoft Outlook, just Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.) There will be versions for Mac and Windows, Microsoft said.

Since Microsoft began releasing its standalone versions or, as it calls them, “one-time purchases” or “perpetual” versions of its Office software, they have provided a limited set of features and support. They’re designed for customers who feel that current updates to a Microsoft 365 subscription aren’t adding value to their purchase, or who can’t or won’t pay for a current subscription. Office 2021 will be supported for five years, Microsoft said.

Microsoft’s blog post declined to say what features would be included or excluded from the consumer version of Office 2021. Microsoft’s retail version, known as the Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), may, however, offer some clues. This release will include accessibility improvements, features like dynamic tables and XLOOKUP in Excel, support for dark mode in several applications, and performance improvements in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint, Microsoft said. The next version of Office will not ship with the Skype for Business client app, which will be available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. It will ship with the Microsoft Teams app, “allowing customers to activate and test this experience if they wish,” Microsoft added.

Unlike the consumer version of Office, which is priced unchanged, Microsoft has announced that it will increase the price of its LTSC versions – Office Professional Plus, Office Standard, and individual Office apps – by up to 10% at the time of release. general availability in the second half of 2021.

Microsoft’s Office 365 corporate vice president Jared Spataro has officially confirmed that there will be a new version of Office LTSC in the future, but he didn’t make the same explicit promise for the consumer version.