Microsoft is adding to Office naming confusion by giving us THREE products they call ‘Office 2016’.
First Office 2016 for Windows – the traditional desktop suite for Windows that most people think of when you say ‘Office’ or ‘Office for Windows’.
Confusingly, Microsoft decided to also call the latest version of their Macintosh software ‘Office 2016’. Usually it’s ‘Office 2016 for Mac‘ but not always, which has led to a lot of confusion inside and outside Microsoft. In the past Office for Mac had different year numbers to it’s Windows cousin (e.g. Office 2011) so it was easy to tell them apart.
Don’t feel bad if you mix the two. Not even Microsoft staff remember to make the distinction between Office 2016 for Windows and Office 2016 for Mac.
But that wasn’t enough for Redmond. Creeping into company usage is yet another ‘Office 2016’.
This time it’s the Office Mobile apps – these are the ‘modern’ apps that only work with Windows 10.
For example, this notice of preview apps talks about ‘Office 2016’ ‘Word 2016’ and so on.
And this new ‘Office 2016’ also works on Windows, so there’s even more room for confusion.
If Microsoft insists on having three Office 2016’s, at least they could ensure that they add more so we (and they) know which programs they are talking about.
