Excel prepares for Apple Silicon Macs with new Office preview build

Excel and PowerPoint are both getting some handy new features.

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What you need to know

Apple hasone more big eventscheduled for next week, where it’s largely expected to launch its new ARM-basedApple Silicon Macs. Ahead of the launch, Microsoft is readying ARM support in its Office suite with afresh update for Slow ring Office Insiders. Notably, this update adds a couple of new features for both Excel and PowerPoint, one of which is feature support for Apple ARM chips in Excel.

The details of the ARM support are a bit on the mundane side. Microsoft says the buit-in SWL Server ODBC data connection provider now features support for both Apple Silicon devices and the TLS 1.2 communication protocol. There are a couple of more eye-catching feature updates here though, including the addition of the Watch Window in Excel and the option to present PowerPoint slideshows in a windowed experience.

Here’s a look at Microsoft’s release notes for this Office Insider Slow ring update:

Excel

PowerPoint

After Apple initially announced its plans to transition Macs to Apple Silicon ARM chips, Microsoft was quick to announce it would support the new chips in its Office suite, so expect more changes as we draw closer to launch. For now, this update is available to Office on macOS testers enrolled in the Insider Slow ring. It’s rolling out as version 16.43 (Build 20110105) now.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter@DthorpLand Instagram@heyitsdtl.