The following features are new or have been improved in SharePoint Server 2016:

  • Access Services
    New key features are: Apps for Office, “Download in Excel” for pivot Access tables and the possibility to upgrade an Access App.
  • Business intelligence
    Support for SQL Server 2016 CTP 3.1, the Power Pivot add-in and Power View.
  • Central Administration
    Central Administration is now provisioned on the first server in a farm by default. SSL configuration has been simplified.
  • Compliance features
    New compliance features for SharePoint Server 2016 include the document deletion and in-place hold policies.
  • Customized web parts
    Improved compile time for customized XSLT files used in Contents Web Parts.
  • Data loss prevention (DLP)
    Identify and Search for sensitive content using the same data loss prevention capabilities as Office 365.
  • Document Library accessibility
    Key features are: New keyboard shortcuts and announcements for upload progress.
  • Durable links
    URLs are resource-based and will remain the same when files are renamed or moved (no broken links).
  • Encrypted Connections
    Support for TLS 1.2 connection encryption by default.
  • Fast Site Collection Creation
    Create site collections and sites rapidly using the SPSiteMaster PowerShell cmdlets.
  • Filenames
    Supports file names that included the &, ~, {, and } characters, a GUID, a leading dot and more than 128 characters.
  • Hybrid
    Integration of the on-premises farm with Office 365 using hybrid features for sites, OneDrive for Business and search.
  • Image and Video previews
    Preview of images and videos in document libraries.
  • Information Rights Management
    Capabilities to secure information by encrypting and securing information on libraries with OneDrive for Business.
  • Large file support
    File size support increased to 10 GB. Background intelligent transfer service (BITS) protocol is used for upload instead of the HTTP protocol.
  • MinRole
    Define each servers role in a farm (Frond-end, Application, Distributed Cache, Search, Custom or Single-Server Farm).
  • Mobile experience
    Improved mobile navigation experience.
  • OneDrive for Business
    Controls at the top of personal document folders.
  • New Recycle Bin in OneDrive and Team sites
    A link for the Recycle Bin in the left navigation area has been added.
  • Open Document Format (ODF)
    Support for Open Document Format (ODF) files.
  • Project Server
    Project Server is now integrated in SharePoint.
  • Request Manager
    Adds support for throttling and routing scenarios for the following roles: Application, Distributed Cache, Front-End
  • Resilient file system (ReFS) file system support
    Spport for drives that are formatted with the ReFS file system.
  • Search
    Significant deployment changes and support for indexing up to 500 million items per Search Service application. Unified search results for on-premises and Office 365 content.
  • Sharing
    New sharing improvements: Create and share folder, sharing hint, see who the folder is shared with when viewing a folder
    members can share, improved invitation mail and one-click email to approve or deny a request for access.
  • Site Collections
    The amount of Site Collections in a database has increased to 100’000.
  • Site Folders view
    SharePoint Server 2016 provides a new Site Folders view that lets you access the document libraries in sites that you’re following.
  • Sites page pinning
    Pin sites and show them on the top of the list of sites you’re following.
  • SMTP
    Adds support for SMTP servers that use TCP ports other than the default port 25 and for sending emails using STARTTLS connection encryption.
  • Web Application Open Platform Interface Protocol (WOPI)
    Rename files, create new files and share files from within the WOPI iframe on the browser page.

 
The following features have been replaced or deprecated in SharePoint Server 2016:

  • Duet Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint
    This version doesn’t provide any Duet components.
  • Excel Services
    Its now a part of Excel Online in Office Online Server (Office Web Apps Server).
  • ForeFront Identity Manager client (FIM)
    FIM is replaced by Active Directory Import. Alternatively Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 or any third-party tool can be used for synchronization.
  • SharePoint Foundation
    A free edition of SharePoint is no longer available, but SharePoint Foundation 2013 remains available for use.
  • Standalone Install mode
    Alternatively choose the Single Server Farm option where everything is installed on the same computer is supported for development, test and demo purposes. The SQL Server has to be installed separately.
  • STSADM
    The stsadm command-line tool is replaced by PowerShell.
  • Tags and notes
    Users can no longer create new tags and notes or access existing ones.