Microsoft Office 2021 will come to Mac … sometime

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Pay What You Want- Essential Microsoft Office 2019 Bundle
Microsoft Office 2021 for Mac will include new versions of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. And OneNote too.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Microsoft on Thursday committed itself to releasing Microsoft Office 2021 for Mac and Windows. This is a one-payment version of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and OneNote. It’s separate from the Office 365 subscription service.

And there’s good news about pricing.

Microsoft Office 2021 is really real

Jared Spataro, the boss of Office development at Microsoft, said in a blog post, “We also plan to release Office 2021 for personal and small business use later this year.”

He didn’t get more specific about timing. But the announcement made it clear the name is “Office 2021,” not 2022. That might be a hint that it’ll be out earlier in the year. The current version of Microsoft’s suite of business applications debuted in 2018.

The Microsoft exec mostly kept mum about enhancements to be expected. “We will announce more details about new features included in Office 2021 closer to general availability,” Spataro. Still, he made it clear that a subscription to Office 365 is the way to get more new features sooner.

The one-time purchase version will be supported for five years.

No price hike

Anyone planning to get the new suite doesn’t have to prepare for ticker shock. “We do not plan to change the price for these products at the time of the release,” noted Spataro.

That said, Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 costs $249.99 and can be installed only on one computer. In comparison, Office 365 Personal is $69.99 a year.

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