Microsoft confirms standalone Office 2024 is coming to Windows and Mac later this year

Daniel Sims

Daniel Sims

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In brief: Upon launching Office 2021 a little over two years ago, Microsoft confirmed that it would release at least one more non-subscription edition of its ubiquitous productivity package. The first details of that update emerged this week. Office LTSC 2024 is available starting next month, with a consumer version arriving later this year.

Microsoft plans to roll out a new one-time purchase edition of Office for Windows and macOS throughout 2024 – the productivity suite's first significant update since Office 2021 launched alongside Windows 11. Office LTSC will cost 10 percent more while the consumer edition maintains its current price.

Redmond's announcement primarily focused on the Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), which enters commercial preview in April. This version is mainly for enterprise systems that cannot maintain the constant internet connections that the cloud-based Microsoft 365 requires. Information on feature updates for the consumer variant will likely emerge later.

While Microsoft didn't delve deep into LTSC 2024's improvements, it confirmed that Excel will receive dozens of new features, including Dynamic Charts and Arrays. The update also improves the search and meeting creation tools in Outlook. However, Office 2024 will not include Publisher, as Microsoft plans to sunset the application in 2026.

Oddly, Microsoft omitted AI-based tools for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from the perpetual license edition of Office due to Redmond's plans for an aggressive subscription-based AI push this year. The company packaged its Copilot AI assistant with Windows 11 23H2, and 24H2 will enhance it and other AI features using the NPUs in the latest AMD and Intel processors. It seems Microsoft wants to restrict its new AI features to subscribers, as standalone Office owners will not qualify for Copilot Pro, an enhanced version of the assistant based on GPT-4 Turbo.

Office 2024 will support Windows 11, Windows 10, and macOS. It will be available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Like previous editions, the LTSC and consumer versions of Office 2024 receive five years of feature updates through mainstream support, followed by an "extended support" period that only includes security updates. Extended support for Office 2016 and Office 2019 ends in October 2025. Additionally, Microsoft confirmed plans to release at least one more standalone edition of Office.

Although the official MSRP for Office starts at $149, deals offering the software for a fraction of that price have regularly appeared for years. Right now, budget-minded buyers can pick up Office Professional Plus 2019 for $39 and Office 2021 for $45. It's unclear how quickly similar deals could emerge for Office 2024.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/102308-microsoft-confirms-standalone-office-2024-coming-windows-mac.html

 
Even if we all get so-called "AI PCs" that are more than capable of running models locally (most of us, especially those on TechSpot, already have one), companies like Microsoft want AI to be another revenue stream via a subscription. A pity, because there are good features that can be baked in locally. Fortunately many applications can be extended to support them, and worst case you can copy/paste between the application and the copilot.

In time, I suspect that copilots will become so prevalent that a subscription model will be untenable for the majority of software. Microsoft should plan for that sooner, rather than later.
 
365 is a steal in my opinion. Beyond all the Office apps.
For $70 a year, the inclusion of Experian ID\theft protection is a great deal.
The same coverage is $20 per month directly from Experian.
 
scavengerspc said:
365 is a steal in my opinion. Beyond all the Office apps.
For $70 a year, the inclusion of Experian ID\theft protection is a great deal.
The same coverage is $20 per month directly from Experian.
Click to expand...
Also, for less than $100 per year you get up to 6TB of OneDrive Cloud storage. I think it's an incredible deal.
 
scavengerspc said:
365 is a steal in my opinion. Beyond all the Office apps.
For $70 a year, the inclusion of Experian ID\theft protection is a great deal.
The same coverage is $20 per month directly from Experian.
Click to expand...
And for a one time fee of $50, you can buy the whole office suite and use it for a decade+ without constant fees instead of paying $70 a year for it. Or better yet, for personal use, use one of the many free office apps. If you want cloud storage, use google docs, comes with free cloud storage!

Given it's Experian that has leaked data/IDs before, and their scummy business practices, I wouldnt want to give them money no matter what they offer. Credit freezes are free, thats the only thing they do right.
toooooot said:
It seems they acknowledge some people refuse to be 365 robbed.
And the day they stop offering it will be the last time I upgrade to a new office
Click to expand...
I remember when 19 was the last office. Then it was 22, now its going to be 24. In three years we'll get 27.
 
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toooooot said:
It seems they acknowledge some people refuse to be 365 robbed.
And the day they stop offering it will be the last time I upgrade to a new office
Click to expand...

Upgrade to a new Office? What.....How often do you do that?

Here's my MS office upgrade path:
Office '97 - got the student version for one of my college courses
Office 2003 - I don't recall where I got this version from, perhaps my parents gave it to me or it came as some kind of software bundle with some hardware purchase.
Office 2016 - I needed access to an updated version of Xcel for something I was working on and some functions were not supported/available in the '03 version

That's where I am now.
 
Google Docs does the job for me, thanks MS.

yRaz said:
Same for me. But I'm using Firefox on my s21+ because the internet is unusable without an adblocker.
Click to expand...

I'm on Vivaldi (chromium based) with ad blocks, there's no duplicate text here.
 
Theinsanegamer said:
And for a one time fee of $50, you can buy the whole office suite and use it for a decade+ without constant fees instead of paying $70 a year for it. Or better yet, for personal use, use one of the many free office apps. If you want cloud storage, use google docs, comes with free cloud storage!

Given it's Experian that has leaked data/IDs before, and their scummy business practices, I wouldnt want to give them money no matter what they offer. Credit freezes are free, thats the only thing they do right.
I remember when 19 was the last office. Then it was 22, now its going to be 24. In three years we'll get It sells
Click to expand...

Theinsanegamer said:
And for a one time fee of $50, you can buy the whole office suite and use it for a decade+ without constant fees instead of paying $70 a year for it. Or better yet, for personal use, use one of the many free office apps. If you want cloud storage, use google docs, comes with free cloud storage!

Given it's Experian that has leaked data/IDs before, and their scummy business practices, I wouldnt want to give them money no matter what they offer. Credit freezes are free, thats the only thing they do right.
I remember when 19 was the last office. Then it was 22, now its going to be 24. In three years we'll get 27.
Click to expand...
It sells therefore they keep making it. I feel like eventually they would shut it off trying to force anyone who is still using it to switch to 365. It would be a great mistake. I am not sure they realize that we are not the people who are missing out on 365 because we do not know it exist but rather those who only keep using their office app because it is not a subscription type
 
Theinsanegamer said:
Given it's Experian that has leaked data/IDs before
Click to expand...
Everyone has. And crying doesn't help. They haven't had a breach in 10 years and are now considered among the best. They learned from a careless mistake.
Sadly though, there isn't a company on the planet that can be 100% safe. There will always be minor to low level attacks\breaches. But as a point of reference, look up how many ID theft victims had zero protection.
Theinsanegamer said:
And for a one time fee of $50, you can buy the whole office suite and use it for a decade+ without constant fees instead of paying $70 a year for it.
Click to expand...
Sorry, most of us don't live in the past. We stay updated and, of course, well protected.
Theinsanegamer said:
I remember when 19 was the last office. Then it was 22, now its going to be 24. In three years we'll get 27.
Click to expand...
I dont remember that, but then, I have a life! :joy:
 
Last edited:
"Oddly, Microsoft omitted AI-based tools for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from the perpetual license edition..."

Oddly, this would be a reason to buy it!
 
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Neatfeatguy said:
Upgrade to a new Office? What.....How often do you do that?

Here's my MS office upgrade path:
Office '97 - got the student version for one of my college courses
Office 2003 - I don't recall where I got this version from, perhaps my parents gave it to me or it came as some kind of software bundle with some hardware purchase.
Office 2016 - I needed access to an updated version of Xcel for something I was working on and some functions were not supported/available in the '03 version

That's where I am now.
Click to expand...

Xcel? Discredited
 
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