Office 2021 will be a standalone version for businesses and users who don’t want to engage in a Microsoft 365 subscription. Most apps in the new package will have a redesigned look, search box for commands, and updated support for OpenDocument 1.3, to name a few upgrades.
Office 2021 will launch on 5 October, the same day as the availability of Windows 11. Those who have Windows 10 will also be able to have it and take advantage of all the features that come with the new edition of the suite.
The new Office 2021 features include:
Excel:
XLOOKUP function – helps find things in a table or range by row in an Excel worksheet.
Dynamic array support – new functions in Excel that use dynamic arrays.
LET function – an Excel feature that lets you assign names to calculation results.
XMATCH function – this searches for a specified item in an array or range of cells and returns the item’s relative position.
OpenDocument format (ODF) 1.3 support
Updated Draw tab
Performance improvements
PowerPoint:
Record Slide Show – this new PowerPoint feature includes presenter video recording, ink recording and laser pointer recording.
Replay your ink strokes – if you’re using ink in PowerPoint, you can now replay illustrations as they were drawn.
Arrange elements on your slides for screen readers – this lets you rearrange elements to optimize them for screen readers.
OpenDocument format (ODF) 1.3 support
Updated Draw tab
Performance improvements
Outlook:
Translator and ink – You can now annotate emails, draw in a canvas for messages, or translate emails into more than 70 languages.
Instant search – search results are now instant, with more ways to refine and filter results.
Performance improvements
Word:
OpenDocument format (ODF) 1.3 support
Updated Draw tab
Performance improvements
The price for the 2021 Home and Student Office will be $149.99. This will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Microsoft Teams, both on PC and Mac. For Office Home and Business 2021, it will be $249.99. There will be everything found in the Home and Student offer, as well as Outlook and the rights to use all Office applications for business purposes.
Office 2021 will also include the collaboration features found in Microsoft 365 versions of Office, with real-time co-authoring, OneDrive support, and Microsoft Teams integration.
The Tech Platform