In fact, over the last year and a half we’ve added more than 100 of your favorite OneNote 2016 features based on your feedback.Īnd still, there are OneNote 2016 features that aren’t in OneNote for Windows 10. You don’t need to worry about being on the latest version since it’s always up-to-date via the Microsoft Store, and it lets us deliver updates faster than ever before. Why OneNote for Windows 10? The app has improved performance and reliability, and it’s powered by a brand new sync engine (which we’re also bringing to web, Mac, iOS, and Android). Here is Microsoft’s explanation today as to why OneNote for Windows 10 is superior: There’s another side benefit to this change for Microsoft: Users will have another incentive to get Windows 10.įor this and other reasons, some still prefer OneNote 2016. Microsoft has long struggled to explain the differences between the two apps, even creating a support page specifically addressing the question “ What’s the difference between OneNote and OneNote 2016?”

This also means Microsoft doesn’t have to keep up development of two apps, since OneNote for Windows 10 will get all the attention, including any that would have inevitably gone to OneNote 2019. That said, OneNote 2016 will be optionally available for anyone with Office 365 or Office 2019 it simply will not be installed by default. Support, bug fixes, and security updates will continue throughout the Office 2016 lifecycle - mainstream support for OneNote 2016 ends in October 2020 and extended support ends in October 2025. Microsoft will no longer update the OneNote 2016 app with new features. By making it available as a free download in February 2015, and now killing off the Win32 desktop version, Microsoft hinted and today confirmed that OneNote can stand on its own.

To be clear, OneNote is still included in Office.

One note desktop