Microsoft has released a new version of the Office suite for customers who prefer not to subscribe to Microsoft 365. Office 2024 is available for both individual consumers and small businesses, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook for PC and Mac. This version includes updates that have been provided to Microsoft 365 subscribers over the past few years.
The last standalone version of Microsoft Office was released in 2021. Office 2024 features improvements to the core applications and changes to the user interface. The default theme now follows Fluent Design, aligning with the visual style of Windows 11. The biggest changes are in Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Excel has new features for working with text and arrays, as well as an Image function that can extract images from the internet. Excel 2024 can now reference dynamic arrays in auto-updating charts. Microsoft claims overall speed and stability have improved in Excel 2024.
PowerPoint now allows users to insert video streams from cameras into slides, and features voiceover recording, animations, transitions, and handwriting input. Subtitles can now be added to video and audio files on slides.
Outlook 2024 has significantly revamped search for more relevant results when searching through messages, attachments, contacts, and calendar entries. This release of Outlook also includes more tools for organizing meetings, including the ability to automatically shorten them. Mac users can now use swipe gestures in Outlook.
In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, users can easily insert images from Android mobile devices. The new version fully supports OpenDocument format (ODF) version 1.4, which includes numerous improvements. Word and PowerPoint allow users to mark and respond to comments in documents.
Word 2024 users will have the ability to recover sessions in case of a PC crash — Word will automatically restore all documents that were open before a power outage or program crash.
OneNote 2024 users will gain access to new handwriting and drawing features.
To use Office 2024, a Microsoft account and internet connection are required. It’s unclear if a constant connection is necessary or if it’s only needed for installation, activation, and updates. Office 2024 requires Windows 10 or 11 for PCs, and any of the last three releases of macOS for Macs.
Microsoft Office 2024 will be available in two editions: Office Home 2024 for $149.99, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for PC or Mac, and Office Home and Business 2024 for $249.99, which also provides Outlook and commercial usage rights.
