Earlier this year, Microsoft launched the new version of its Office suite, Microsoft Office 2016, for multiple platforms. The version for Windows users came out on September 22 and it is now available for download and use for Office 365 subscribers. It's also available in retail. We thought it would be a good idea to tell you about the main new features of this new version and the main improvements that are introduced by Microsoft Office 2016. We'll also describe the available editions and where you can buy them from. So, if you want to know more about Microsoft's latest Office suite, read this article:

What's new in Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365?

Microsoft Office 2016 is the latest version of Office that includes the following applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Access. When you buy Microsoft Office 2016, your license never expires and you can use it, theoretically, forever, as long as you don't change the hardware configuration of your PC in meaningful ways.

Office 365 now offers the Microsoft Office 2016 suite, as a service. You pay for it on a monthly or yearly basis and you also get other benefits. One of them is that you always have the latest Office version available on the devices on which you are using it. When you stop paying for the subscription, your access to Office applications and the additional services bundled with it expires.

Microsoft Office 2016 brings lots of new features and improvements over previous versions. Here are just a few of them:

• Microsoft Office apps let you create, edit and save documents, spreadsheets, presentation and all kinds of files directly in the cloud, using OneDrive.
• You can now work on your Word or PowerPoint files in collaboration with others, in real-time, regardless of the device you're using. And you can see in real time what the other co-authors are doing in your Word documents.
• Sharing your documents is easier - all you need to do is press the Share button. You can also see who has access to your Office file and who's working in it.

• Microsoft Office 2016 includes new chart types: Treemap, Waterfall, Pareto, Histogram, Box and Whisker, and Sunburst.

• Word, Excel and PowerPoint now have a better version history system that lets you easily see previous versions of your files, while co-authoring with other people.
• OneNote lets share your notebooks with other people, as long as you've saved or moved your notebooks to OneDrive.

We've only showed you some of the most important new features brought to us by Microsoft's Office 2016. However, there are many other new things that help us be more productive and, if you'd like to know more about them, you can check this official announcement by Microsoft: What's New and Improved in Office 2016.

What's this Sway I've heard about ?

While it is not a part of the new Microsoft Office 2016 suite of apps, we'd also like to mention Sway - a new Office-related app from Microsoft. This app is designed to help you create digital stories, much like PowerPoint, but with a focus on helping you create, present or share ideas, concepts, interactive reports, presentations, personal stories and more. In contrast to PowerPoint, which is designed to help you create and show presentations to large audiences, Sway is more of a on-screen app, designed to let you present your content to smaller audiences, or better yet, to share it online with others. Microsoft's Sway is available as part of the Office Online services, or as a downloadable app for Windows 10 devices, iPad tablets and iPhones. We're also expecting to see a version of the app for the upcoming Windows 10 Mobile. If you want more details about Sway, check its official web page, here: Sway.com.

We believe that Microsoft has not included Sway in the Microsoft Office 2016 suite because this app is still being developed and improved. It feels more like a beta and, most probably, it will be included in Microsoft Office 2017.

On what devices can I have Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365?

The Microsoft Office suite is available to download and install on a multitude of platforms and devices. You can install it on Windows laptops, desktops and 2-in-1s, you can install it on Macs, on Windows or Android tablets, on iPads, on Android smartphones and on iPhones and, if you own a Windows Phone, then you already have Microsoft Office on it.

However, you should know that not all the apps included in the full Microsoft Office suite are available on each and every platform. For instance, if you use an Android smartphone or a Windows Phone, you'll only be able to download, install and use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Which are the available Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365 editions?

As expected, Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365 is available in multiple editions, each designed to fill the needs of certain types of users. That's good because if, for instance, you only need one license on only one PC, then you can buy only that. If you also need Microsoft Office also for your wife, husband, kids and so on, you can choose to buy a home edition that can be used by up to five users simultaneously. Here's the list with all the available Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365 editions:

• Office 365 Home - can be installed on up to 5 PCs or 5 Macs, and on 5 tablets and 5 smartphones per household (multiple users can use it). It includes the applications you would find in Microsoft Office 2016: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access . On top of that, it also offers 1 TB of additional OneDrive storage for each of the 5 users, 60 minutes/month of Skype phone calls, and perpetual upgrades to the latest Office version, for the life of the subscription.
• Office 365 Personal - can be installed on 1 PC or Mac, and on 1 tablet and 1 phone, by only 1 user. Other than that, this subscription plan includes all the other features from Office 365 Home.
• Office Home & Student 2016 - can be bought as a one-time purchase (no subscription plan here). It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, and it can be installed on only 1 PC. This edition also includes 15 GB of OneDrive cloud storage.
• Office Home & Business 2016 - identical to Office Home & Student 2016 , except it also includes Outlook .
• Office Professional 2016 - is identical with Office Home & Business 2016 , but includes Publisher and A ccess too.

Where Can I Buy Microsoft Office 2016 or Office 365?

Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365 are available to purchase in many places and in many ways. However, we believe the best places to buy software are either the official stores from Microsoft or well known online stores, that have a good reputation. Either buy Microsoft Office 2016 or Office 365 from the Office.com website or buy it from a renowned online store like Amazon.

If you prefer buying Office 2016 or Office 365 directly from Microsoft, head to this website, and choose the edition you want: Choose your Office.

However, there is a possibility that some of the Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365 editions are sold at cheaper prices on Amazon, so you should also take into consideration these links:

• Purchase Microsoft Office from Amazon US:

• Microsoft Office 365 Home 1 Year | 5 PC or 5 Mac Key Card - $99.00
• Microsoft Office 365 Personal 1 Year | PC or Mac Key Card - $64.49
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 | PC Key Card - $129.99
• Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 | PC Key Card - $197.99

• Purchase Microsoft Office from Amazon UK:

• Microsoft Office 365 Home, Licence Card, 5 Users, 1 year subscription (PC/Mac) - £63.23
• Microsoft Office 365 Personal - 1 User - 1 Year Subscription (PC/Mac) - £43.98
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 - Licence Key (PC) - £108.26
• Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 - Licence Key (PC) - £180.30

Conclusion

Microsoft Office has been the industry standard when it comes to office productivity apps for a long time. There are probably very few people that haven't heard about Office or use at least one Office app in their professional life. Hopefully this article has given you enough information to decide whether you want to buy Microsoft Office 2016 or Office 365, or not. If you have any questions that are still unanswered, don't hesitate to ask using the form below.