Office 2021 arrives in October

Microsoft Office has been an integral part of our everyday lives for decades. For a few years now, there has been a subscription version called Office 365. But for those who don't want to subscribe, there is still the traditional, one-off Office. Now there is a new version.

Office 365 users are used to the Office suite being constantly updated, so it's not even explicitly stated whether we're using Office 2019 or Office 2021, as change is constant and subscribers are using more advanced software than one-off customers.

That's why the new Office will be new for those who are still using the 2016 or 2019 "out of the box" Office products.

New features include dark mode, support for OpenDocument 1.3, new Excel functions, optimized slideshow recording in PowerPoint, and minor changes to the user interface.

Microsoft is providing 5 years of support for the software, which means that it will be supported with bug fixes and security patches until October 2026. Support for previous versions of Office will expire in 2025, so it may be worth waiting for a replacement if you don't need the latest updates.

The price of the new Office, which arrives on 5 October, is unchanged from Microsoft's position in February, but following the Office 365 price increase, it is questionable whether they will decide otherwise.

This will be clear in early October, when the Windows 11, and Office 2021.

Alongside Microsoft 365, a Windows 365 cloud-based Windows 10 virtual machine service has been added. It's important to note that the two should not be confused, Windows 365 does not come with an Office licence as standard, you have to buy it separately or pay for it upfront.

About Windows 11 support for Xiaomi and Redmi laptops in this article.