Microsoft Office 365 Updated With Apple Silicon Support

Thanks to Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation software, it is possible to run x86 apps on the M1 Mac computers. It might not necessarily be ideal since these apps weren’t coded for the ARM-based M1 chipset, but for the most part, it works. However, for those who prefer native solutions, you’re in luck, at least if you’re an Office 365 user.

Microsoft has announced that they have updated its Office 365 suite of productivity apps where it will now support the M1 chipset. According to Microsoft, “We are excited to announce that starting today we are releasing new versions of many of our Microsoft 365 for Mac apps that run natively on Macs with M1. This means that now our core flagship Office apps—Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote—will run faster and take full advantage of the performance improvements on new Macs.”

Not all Microsoft apps are supported yet, such as Microsoft Teams (Microsoft’s answer to Slack). The company does note that they are working on universal app support for the M1 Macs, so it’s really only a matter of time before all of Microsoft’s products will run natively on Apple’s new Mac computers.

That being said, Microsoft has yet to confirm if they will eventually offer up an ARM version of Windows that can be licensed by users. Right now, Microsoft’s policy is such that the ARM version of Windows can only be used if they are installed on the device at the factory, meaning that individuals such as ourselves will not be able to purchase an ARM license and use it with virtualization software like Parallels or even Boot Camp.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Computers
Tags: Apps, m1, Microsoft, office