Office 2016 to be released in second half of 2015

After bringing in the touch version of Office for Windows 10, Microsoft has annopunced that Office 2016 will be available in the second half of 2015.

The company has updated all of the Office features including Word, which will now allow users share their work with others in real time through Bing.

The new Read mode is also introduced to Word, bringing additional online resources including images, web references and definitions into Word.

Excel has also been upgraded to include charts to update spreadsheets and new touch-first controls.

For PowerPoint, Microsoft has brought Ink tools to annotate slides in real time. OneNote will include a consistent Office ribbon experience.

Microsoft also introduced touch gestures to Outlook Mail that will help users read, sort, flag and archive your mail.

Microsoft said: "Simultaneously, we are hard at work on the next release of the Office desktop suite that will be called Office 2016."

"(Unexpected, I know!) We will have more to share on Office 2016 in the coming months, but this suite will remain the comprehensive Office experience you’re long familiar with, best suited for a PC with keyboard and mouse,"

"We expect to make Office 2016 generally available in the second half of 2015."