Recently, Microsoft made one of the worst decisions we've seen in a while by changing the Microsoft 365 branding to Microsoft 365 Copilot, along with changing the icon to a standard Copilot icon with a tacky M365 label on top. Suffice it to say, the change wasn't received well and didn't really make sense for the majority of people.

It's especially frustrating that this is what Microsoft decided to change when there are so many areas where the productivity suite could improve. And to drive that point home, I've compiled just a few of those things below, so hopefully Microsoft can get its act together and improve some of these things.

8 A Copilot-less option

We were just fine before

This one doesn't exactly fit the criteria for this article because this wasn't a change that Microsoft 365 really needed before the new branding was implemented. In fact, this is another negative change that came alongside the dumb new icon and name. Basically, Microsoft 365 now includes Copilot by default, and along with that, Microsoft increased the monthly price by $3.

Not only is it frustrating to see the price of this service go up, it's especially annoying to see it happen because of Copilot, a feature that so many people don't want and actively try to avoid. It would almost have been better if this price increase occurred at the start of the year and was just blamed on inflation or something. After all, the price of the service hadn't changed in years, so a price increase made some sense. But when it's tied to something no one was really asking for, it just angers consumers.

7 Stop with the upsells

Shady tactics shouldn't fly

Microsoft has recently found a very invasive way to try and get people to spend money on Microsoft 365, and that's OneDrive backups on Windows 11. Whenever you set up a Windows PC, you're kind of pushed to back up all your documents, pictures, and desktop items. A fairly inoffensive thing to do at first, but all of these things use up your OneDrive storage, and you only have 5GB available for free.

This means you'll very quickly find yourself being pushed to pay up in order to continue being able to back up your files, and at that point, you might be so used to it that you'll feel the need to spend that money. What makes it even worse is that even if your turn off the backup, sometimes Microsoft will try to remind you to turn it on. It just feels shady and dishonest, on top of disrupting the user experience.

6 Good web apps

Office online is not amazing

Microsoft may be ahead of the competition when it comes to its desktop apps, but the web apps for its Office suite are notoriously not very good. For the most part, I would say they're serviceable, but they can feel clunky and sluggish to use in some ways, and real-time collaboration doesn't feel as seamless as it is on Google's alternatives.

Google has been gaining ground on Microsoft for most general purpose Office usage, and it's easy to see why. While Microsoft's web apps still do some things right, Google's are just more inviting and easier to collaborate on, so they come out on top.

5 Make it easier to understand what apps are for

There's a lot of overlap and confusion

A problem Microsoft has been having with its productivity suite is that most platforms now have apps that do the same job as each other, or at least look like they should. For example, on Windows, there's a Microsoft 365 app, and then there are the actual Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps, which are separate. The Microsoft 365 app does let you create and edit documents and files, but only through the web apps, even if you have necessary apps installed.

But on Android or iOS, it's even weirder, because the Microsoft 365 app also exists, and here, it includes all the tools for editing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents built right in, on top of multiple other tools like document scanning, converting files, and using Copilot. But then Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are also all available as separate apps on these platforms. Even document scanning is available as a separate app with Microsoft Lens. So as a user, how do you know what to install? It can get very confusing, especially when the behavior isn't consistent across platforms.

4 A decent storage-only plan

It shouldn't be that hard

I suspect I'm not alone when I say that the most useful part of Microsoft 365 to me is the cloud storage, and the actual desktop apps aren't really a necessity for my workload. And while Microsoft's pricing isn't outrageous, I definitely think it would benefit from a cheaper storage-only plan that isn't as limiting as Microsoft 365 Basic (which is an option that's already kind of hidden on Microsoft's website). That plan only includes 100GB of storage, and there's just no way to get more unless you get the full office suite along with it.

So, I can pay $9.99 per month on Microsoft's side and get 1TB of storage with a bunch of apps I don't need, or I can look at Google and pay the same $9.99 for 2TB of storage, including the ability to easily share it with up to five people. Microsoft can and should try to undercut or match Google's offering here. 1TB for something like $4.99 a month would be great.

3 A native video editor

Clipchamp is still not ideal

Microsoft shipped Windows without a decent video editor for years, but that started to change in 2021 when the company acquired Clipchamp ahead of the launch of Windows 11. This is a pretty capable video editor all things considered, with plenty of editing capabilities, effects and stock items included. Microsoft 365 also adds some more effects that would usually require a standalone Clipchamp plan. However, there are still some problems.

For one thing, Clipchamp doesn't support exporting in 4K, even with the Microsoft 365 bonuses. That requires a separate monthly payment.

But more importantly to me, Clipchamp is still a web-based app, and that just doesn't feel like the best it could be. Editing video is a heavy workload, and you want that kind of work to be as optimized as possible for the platform it's on, and that's just never the case with a web app. A tailored UI, better performance, and a more streamlined experience are all things you can get with a native app. Exporting videos in Clipchamp also doesn't feel the most natural, as you need to click Export and are then prompted by your browser to save the exported file, instead of just exporting it to the desired folder right away.

Overall, native apps are just better than web apps, and while taking the easy route probably makes sense financially, it just makes this a more unappealing product.

2 A password manager

How is Authenticator still only on mobile?

Password managers are an essential part of today's world. As passsword requirements become more complex and we're required to change password more frequently, password managers make it easy to remember all the passwords for your services while keeping them all secure.

Microsoft has its own password manager within the Authenticator app, and it's very useful since it's bundled with other things like two-factor authentication codes. The problem is Authenticator remains an app exclusive to mobile devices, so if you have a Windows PC or Mac, there's not really a way to use these passwords unless you also want to use Microsoft Edge. Simply make the Microsoft Authenticator available on all platforms, and you'll be making life so much easier for people while enhancing everyone's security.

1 A VPN

It makes a lot of sense

On the topic of security and privacy, VPNs are also an essential part of today's internet. Georestricted content is very common, especially with streaming services and all the licensing deals that vary around the world. A VPN lets you view content as if you were in any other country of your choosing, which is great when you're traveling but still want to enjoy your favorite shows.

VPNs are also huge for security and privacy. By masking your identity online, a VPN can help shield you from all kinds of attacks, but also all kinds of privacy-invasive tactics, such as tracking for advertising purposes. And if you're someone who likes sailing the seas of content in more... unofficial ways, a VPN also prevents your IP from being tracked or blocked in regions where that might be problematic.

A name change isn't good for anyone

All of this is to say that changing the name of Microsoft 365 is the last thing Microsoft needed to do (especially when the company failed so spectacularly at it). There are a lot of aspects of Microsoft 365 that could be improved and add more value. In most cases, the changes here would warrant a price increase much more than the addition of Copilot does. Will any of this actually happen? Frankly, I don't see that being the case anytime soon, but we can always hope.