The Office brand name will largely disappear in the coming months. Microsoft will rename the office suite and integrate it into Microsoft 365. The individual app names, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, will remain.
Microsoft writes in a faq that the brand name Office will disappear shortly. Over the next few months, Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows will disappear. Those services will be renamed or integrated into the Microsoft 365 app. It will also get ‘a new look and more features, although Microsoft does not write anything about it. The Microsoft 365 app will also be available for the first time on the Android and iOS mobile platforms. There is now only an Office app, but it will be renamed, and the Microsoft 365 functions will be integrated.
According to Microsoft, the change is necessary because Microsoft 365 has become the company’s leading productivity suite. Microsoft 365’s online versions of Office programs, such as Word and Excel, were already usable, along with other software such as Teams and OneDrive. In the past, that package was only available as Office 365 with only the Office apps, but that has slowly been phased out. According to Microsoft, nothing will change for customers who, for one reason or another, are still on Office 365.
The individual packages do keep their names, so Word itself doesn’t disappear. It also remains possible to purchase a one-time license for some or all Office programs through Microsoft itself. The prices for this start at 149 dollars or euros.
The changes start next month. As of November, Office.com will be replaced. The other apps will follow in January next year; then, the Windows apps will be updated, and the mobile apps will have a different look.
