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New Version of Outlook for Mac Leaked in Screenshots, Release Date Still Unclear

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Earlier this year, rumors suggested that Microsoft was preparing to launch a new version of Office for Mac in 2014, and now images of what is said to be a new version of Outlook have surfaced on Chinese site cnBeta [Google Translate], suggesting Microsoft is drawing closer to releasing updated Mac Office software.

Depicting "Outlook for Mac 16," the images show a new version of Outlook that's been updated with a new OS X Yosemite-style look, adopting translucent menu elements and a flatter overall design. The interface takes on a "simple, modern style," according to cnBeta, which is "more intuitive" and it includes support for Retina displays much like Office 2011 for Mac.

outlookformac16.jpg
The design is said to be more unified with both the Windows version of Office and the iPad version, making it easier to switch between platforms. The new Office for Mac and Outlook for Mac are said to take advantage of cloud file sharing, allowing users to swap between devices and to collaborate on projects. It's also much simpler to share documents with an entire team and Outlook for Mac will integrate with OS X Yosemite's Notification Center.

outlook_mac_16_calendar.jpg
Microsoft's last major Office for Mac release came in October of 2010, more than four years ago, and there's been little information about an updated version of the software since then.

A presentation given earlier this year by Thorsten Hübschen, Business Group Lead at Microsoft Germany, suggested that Microsoft would debut a new version of its Office productivity suite for the Mac in 2014, and a Microsoft representative later confirmed that employees were "hard at work" on the next version of Office for Mac.

But with this leaked version of Outlook reportedly carrying the version 16 label and Microsoft only nearing a public preview of Office 16 for Windows ahead of a launch next year, the company's plans are somewhat unclear. Mac versions of Office typically follow their Windows counterparts by only a few months, but it has been two years since the launch of Office 2013 for Windows (version 15) and a corresponding Mac version has yet to appear.

Article Link: New Version of Outlook for Mac Leaked in Screenshots, Release Date Still Unclear
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/27/outlook-mac-16-screenshots/
The sooner the better if you ask me. Outlook (and Office 2011) massively need updating. If it looks like Onenote/Office on the iPad then I'm all for that.
 
When I was a kid we had to use Outlook while we were walking to work uphill in three feet of snow with only some warm broth in our bellies. Oh my those were the days. Hopefully our children won't have to suffer as we once did.
 
For the love of god!

ON all that is GOOD, please let this come out before Christmas! I'm so over the Mac Suite at this point; there ARE SO MANY FEATURES left out on the MAC Version it's so annoying! I truly hope this is soon; a friend who works for Microsoft told me that it's been done for a while and that Apple is holding them back from release?

Hmmmm...
 
If that's blanket-level color-coding based on calendar as a whole, I am going to be VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY HAPPY!!!!!!!!!! :eek:
 
Hopefully the designers of this tool have been paying attention - the major gripe a lot of business pros have with this is that you can't do multiple side-by-side calendars (that's a Windows version feature only; the Mac version overlays calendars on each other.)
 
I find Office 2011 to be pretty much unusable. I end up using the 2013 suite on my PC at work. I'd love to drop that in favor of a modern and functional Mac version. This is looking great so far!
 
tliede20 said:
ON all that is GOOD, please let this come out before Christmas! I'm so over the Mac Suite at this point; there ARE SO MANY FEATURES left out on the MAC Version it's so annoying! I truly hope this is soon; a friend who works for Microsoft told me that it's been done for a while and that Apple is holding them back from release?

Hmmmm...
Click to expand...

Apple can't hold Microsoft (or anyone else) back from releasing OS X software.
 
budafied said:
I find Office 2011 to be pretty much unusable. I end up using the 2013 suite on my PC at work. I'd love to drop that in favor of a modern and functional Mac version. This is looking great so far!
Click to expand...

Office 2011 is painful to use on my rMBP.... so much lag. However iWork has gotten good enough where it's compatible with almost everything I need for work, so I just end up using that.

Outlook is the only thing I depend on daily. I hope the new version is available standalone and without a 365 subscription.
 
I hope that this is real news.

Office for Mac 2011 is really awful to work with and Apple seems to be unwilling to improve the situation for OSX users in the enterprise. We have broken Samba and non-working Exchange integration (which - interestingly - works perfect under iOS) in 2014. All of this worked a few years ago.
 
topmounter said:
When I was a kid we had to use Outlook while we were walking to work uphill in three feet of snow with only some warm broth in our bellies. Oh my those were the days. Hopefully our children won't have to suffer as we once did.
Click to expand...

Outlook is quite good for a groupware cient, at least under Windows (the OSX version sucks). Compared to Apple Mail and Apple Calendars it wins hands down. And it's what most enterprise users have to work with.
 
I just hope they improve the calculation engine in Excel. Its actually quicker to get large spreadsheets to calculate in the Widows version of Excel running in a VM with 1/2 the memory allocation than it is in the current Mac version of office.
 
budafied said:
I find Office 2011 to be pretty much unusable. I end up using the 2013 suite on my PC at work. I'd love to drop that in favor of a modern and functional Mac version. This is looking great so far!
Click to expand...

Yep. Excel is so slow (and has been for years) that I log into a VPN Desktop to do Excel work on Windows for work.
 
I couldn't care less if it has translucent menus. But it needs to have feature parity with the Windows version, Exchange Activesync support, and support for the PST/OST file format. The current Outlook for Mac sucks compared to the Windows version.
 
If this drops later in 2014 do you think that will be a separate purchase or do you think we'll be able to update to it for free?

I ask because I just got a new mac mini and was going to get office... so the current version is my only option.
 
Looks as fugly as ever. Why does all Microsoft software have to look so bloated and ugly?
 
Ridley said:
If this drops later in 2014 do you think that will be a separate purchase or do you think we'll be able to update to it for free?

I ask because I just got a new mac mini and was going to get office... so the current version is my only option.
Click to expand...

If you get it via an Office 365 subscription i believe that will give you upgrade rights.
 
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