Microsoft launched Office 2016 for Mac on Thursday, making it available to Office 365 subscribers. Office 2016 for Mac includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote—Microsoft said it will be available as a standalone purchase in September.
In a blog post announcing the release, Microsoft touted a public beta program for the software, calling it the "largest Office for Mac beta ever." Citing more than 100,000 pieces of feedback, Microsoft said it released seven updates of Office for Mac during the beta program and will continue to update it for Office 365 subscribers.
For a quick look at the software, check out Microsoft's promo video:
Highlights from Microsoft's announcement:
Word
Office 2016 for Mac includes collaborative features designed to allow teams of people to work on the same document, a feature spread throughout the suite. Word, for instance, includes threaded comments to make it easier to follow who said what when.
Word 2016 for Mac
Excel
Excel features a chart type recommendation engine to help users present data in an appropriate fashion. Microsoft said that the formula builder has been improved, and for users with big data sets work with, there is a new feature called PivotTable Slicers to "help you filter large volumes of data and discover patterns."
Excel 2016 for Mac
PowerPoint
Microsoft focused on presenter tools for PowerPoint, saying that the Presenter View has been improved and gives you more "full control" over your deck. There are also new animation tools and transition features.
PowerPoint 2016 for Mac
Outlook
Outlook has a much more Mac-like interface, and Microsoft added a conversation view that collects emails by thread.
Outlook 2016 for Mac
OneNote
OneNote is new to the Office for Mac suite, though it has been a part of the Windows version for a while. Similar to EverNote, NoteSuite, and other apps, OneNote is designed to let you make notes that you can then access from any device.
OneNote 2016 for Mac
Office 365 subscriptions start at $6.99 per month for a personal license for one Mac or PC and one tablet or smartphone, and $9.99 for a home license of up to 5 Macs or PCs and up to 5 tablets and smartphones. Each subscription includes a terabyte of online storage.
Let us know your thoughts on the software in the comments.