[NewsPoster]

Following a four-month public beta period, Microsoft on Thursday released Office 2016 for Mac, now available for immediate download to existing Office 365 subscribers. The new release, strongly modeled on the existing design changes seen in the iPad version of the productivity suite, is the first new full version of Office for Mac since 2010, and adds features such as the Ribbon interface, sandboxing support, Retina screen optimization, and support for fullscreen view.

The suite ships with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote, and among other features adds support for using Windows shortcuts (using the Control key) as well as traditional Mac shortcuts (using the command key) wherever possible, making the transition for Windows switchers easier. The company notes that while existing Office 365 subscribers can get the software today, a standalone version to be sold online or in stores will not appear until this fall. The iPad version of Office, which is free to use, has generally received positive reviews for combining native Apple technologies with a design look consistent with its latest iterations of Windows.

The software is now available in 16 languages and 139 countries, notes Microsoft Corporate VP of Office Client Applications and Services Kirk Koenigsbauer in a blog entry on the new release. "If you already use Office on a PC or iPad, you will find yourself right at home in Office 2016 for Mac," he wrote. "It works the way you expect, with the familiar ribbon interface and powerful task panes. Mac users will appreciate the modernized Office experience, and the integration of Mac capabilities like Full Screen view and multi-touch gestures."

The new version also integrates support for both iCloud syncing as well as Microsoft's own OneDrive cloud storage, and includes new document-sharing tools for better collaboration among users who may be on different platforms. As Apple has done with its own iWork suite and its recent iTunes update, the 2016 version of Office is designed to be a consistent experience across multiple platforms, including Mac, Windows, smartphones, tablets, and web apps.

Android versions of the three core apps were released two weeks ago, far behind the iOS versions, with Outlook and OneNote having been released earlier. The company says it is "weeks away" from delivering Office Mobile app versions for Windows 10 as well.

Apart from the new overall interface design, Word now offers a Design tab that better separates the desktop-layout functionality from the word-processing mode, along with all-new templates to start from. Threaded comments allow collaborators to work on the same document simultaneously and makes notes for each other while doing so. Excel offers an improved formula builder, and the new PivotTable Slicers allows for deeper analysis by filtering large volumes of data.

PowerPoint sees improvements to Presenter View, along with a new Animation pane to create animations. There are also new templates and slide transitions. Outlook offers push mail support, an improved Conversation view, and new message previews for skimming.

The retail version of Office 2016 for Mac will continue to be offered as a standalone product, and will continue to offer -- but not require -- a discounted Office 365 subscription. Subscribers, however, will receive quarterly and immediate updates to the product as part of their subscription, and are getting the new version today as opposed to September.

[DiabloConQueso]

Downloaded and installed in less than 30 minutes. Office 2011 is not uninstalled during the install process, and it seems that Office 2011 apps still function alongside Office 2016 just fine (with my extremely limited testing).

Seems to take up quite a bit more hard drive space than Office 2011 (a gig or three) despite the fewer number of apps included in the install package (No Communicator, no MSN, etc.), but that was expected -- software just gets larger and larger over time with more resources, higher-res imagery, and bloated codebase.

[Charles Martin]

Thanks for the report, DCQ! Very useful.

[Le Flaneur]

Office 2016 is a disastrous release, at least as far as Word 2016 is concerned. It breaks all support for bibliographical reference management programs, equation editors, etc.

[Mike Wuerthele]

We've got a review incoming from our resident author, and I understand its going to be glorious.

[gfsimons]

This is a disaster. Need to export contacts for our organization. How do we trash this piece of incompetence and reinstall 2013 without losing our data base of contacts?