Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus, is it worth buying?

What is Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus?

Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus was released on 22 September 2015 and is still one of the most powerful tools ever released. Microsoft Office is much more than Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, even though most people think of these programmes first.

here are now a whole range of services, from Office 365 cloud services to mobile apps for iOS and Android (along with Skype for Business, Dynamics and Power BI), that back up CEO Satya Nadella's claim that Microsoft is the company for productivity.
The cross-platform approach does not make Office 2016 Professional Plus the same Office everywhere. Rather, it is the right Office for each platform, and in this case it is Windows 10 and macOS.

How does it work?

Windows still gets the lion's share of tools and features simply because it has received the most attention over the years. And while it can be difficult to keep adding important features to something that is already so powerful, there have been some very welcome improvements since its launch, but also some changes you should be aware of.

Improvements and changes

Office 2016 Professional Plus for Mac has many new features (or at least features that are new to Mac users) and the integration with OneDrive is excellent. It doesn't have all the Office apps and it doesn't have all the features of Windows Office, but it offers both the feel of a real Mac app and the tools of a real Office version. The monthly updates pay off as they gradually introduce important features that add up to significant improvements.
Improvements compared to Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus

Outlook

Microsoft is improving Outlook 2016's search, storage and email delivery performance, as well as some image insertion improvements in Word 2016 and Excel 2016. While Microsoft has previously added new ways to extend Office for developers, the software maker says it will not edit add-ons or macro features in Office 2016, leaving things unchanged for existing documents. This approach will please business users who often struggle with old spreadsheets and complex macros.

Skype

Together with the preview of Office 2016 Professional Plus, Microsoft also offers a trial version of Skype for Business. This new version of Skype replaces Lync, Microsoft's main business communication tool. Skype for Business is very similar to the consumer version of Skype and integrates closely with various Office applications.

If you are interested, you can read more details about Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus and Microsoft Office 2013 Standard here.

Comparison with Microsoft Office 2019 Professional Plus

Word

In the case of Word, the new additions you miss with Office 2016 Professional Plus would be as follows:

• Text-to-Speech.
• Improved colouring and accessibility.
• Focus mode.
• Translator.
• Learning aids (subtitles and audio descriptions).
• Black edition.
• Mentions.

We tested the text-to-speech conversion in several languages in the office (English, Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch) and were surprised how good the speech output was in all languages. Even when selecting snippets in a second language. When we tried the Portuguese version with an English fragment in between, the narration flowed smoothly between the two languages. We also tested the translation of some languages and although it is not perfect (e.g. it cannot translate genders correctly from English to Portuguese), it is far above the usual web translation.

PowerPoint

The features of PowerPoint in Office 2019 Professional Plus:

• Zoom functions for sorting slides within presentations.
• Morph transition function.
• Insert and manage symbols, SVG and 3D models.
• Improved box for mechanical pencils.

Excel

With Excel in Office 2016 Professional Plus, you also miss:

• Funnel diagrams, 2D maps and timelines.
• New Excel functions and connectors.
• Possibility to publish Excel in PowerBI.
• PowerPivot extensions.
• PowerQuery extensions.
• Mentions.

Outlook

Outlook 2019 Professional Plus has additional:

• Updated contact cards.
• Office 365 Groups (requires Exchange Online).
• Mentions.
• Focused inbox.
• Overview maps for trips and deliveries.

OneNote

Windows

In OneNote, the desktop app has been replaced by OneNote for Windows 10, which comes with Windows. However, if you prefer to use OneNote 2016, you can still install it with the Office deployment tool.

Mac

For Mac users, OneNote is installed as part of Office 2019 Professional Plus. If you have removed it manually and want to install it again, it is available for free from Apple's App Store.

Click here to see all our Microsoft Office 2019 offers.

What is our conclusion?

If the text-to-speech function or the translator are not the most important features for you and you are not a super expert in PowerPoint and Excel who will use all the new complex functions, Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus is the ideal programme for you. You'll also save a lot of money because it's not the latest version, but it's not the most expensive either. Plus, we can offer you great discounts ;).

If you are interested in finding the best price for Office 2016 Professional Plus, you can take a look at all the offers we have for you. And finally, if you choose Licendi, you are buying Office 2016 permanently, which means it is a perpetual licence!

If you already have a licence to activate your version of Office, you can download Office 2016 Professional Plus.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Greetings,
Your Licendi Team