The Windows 11 version of Microsoft Office will finally run natively on Arm PCs

(Image source: Microsoft)

Microsoft announced today that the next version of Office for Windows 11 will finally have a 64-bit version that will run natively on Arm PCs.

Mike Smith, an engineering manager on the Office team, said:

This new version of Office is designed specifically for the next version of Windows on ARM. It has been recompiled for the ARM architecture to run fast, bring greater memory availability, offer better support large documents, and maintain compatibility with existing 64-bit add-ins using the new x64 emulation capability provided by Windows.

The Office apps that are getting Arm versions include Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. All other Office apps will run in x64 emulation mode.

It has taken a long time for Microsoft to give owners of Arm-based PCs a 64-bit Arm version of Office. And it's especially perplexing seeing that M1 Macs got a native version late last year and owners of Arm-based PCs have to wait until now. Still, better late than never.

This new version of Office is available to try as a beta now. To do so, you will need an Arm-based PC that has been rolled in the Windows Insider Preview program. Next, you have to uninstall any 32-bit versions of Office before reinstalling and updating to this new version.

Source: Microsoft