Microsoft ships Office 2021 preview for Mac

This year, Microsoft will release a preview of Office 2021 for Mac and Office LTSC. Both versions of Office are perpetual versions that don't rely on subscriptions or the cloud, even though Office LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) is intended for commercial clients. Back in February, Microsoft revealed its plans for Office 2021. A Windows version, which won't be in preview, will also be released later this year.

Office 2021 for Mac will require at least 4GB of RAM and 10GB of storage space, and it will support both Apple Silicon and Intel-based Macs. Although the Office preview is intended to be a static release, there will be monthly upgrades that may add new functionality. There won't be any additional features added after Office 2021 for Mac is finalized and published. Improvements currently made include:

Line Focus is a feature in Word that eliminates interruptions so users may go through a page line by line.

Using the Excel tool XLOOKUP, you can search for items in a table or range by row.

Support for dynamic arrays in spreadsheets in Excel, which provides new functionalities.

In PowerPoint, create a slide show with narration.

Additionally, dark mode support, accessibility upgrades, and the same Dynamic Arrays and XLOOKUP features featured in Excel 2021 for Mac will all be included in Microsoft's Office LTSC version. Similar features will be available in Office 2021 for Windows.

You'll need to download the installation from Microsoft's website and a unique Volume License Serializer to activate the preview if you're interested in checking out Office 2021 for Mac.