Microsoft Office gets 'visual refresh' and a native 64-bit ARM version for Windows 11

The 64-bit Office on ARM is currently in beta and available to Office Insiders for testing

Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Office is getting a few major updates, including a visual refresh and support for a 64-bit version on ARM devices.

The new version of Office has specifically been made for the Windows 11 on ARM, according to the company. It has been recompiled for the ARM architecture to run fast, deliver enhanced performance on large or picture-filled documents, and bring greater availability. In addition, it is compatible with existing 64-bit Office add-ins, thanks to Windows' new x64 emulation abilities.

It will also allow users to present media-rich slideshows, run calculations in workbooks, and co-author large documents.

"Office on ARM64 is built as an ARM64EC (Emulation Compatible) application, which allows for the ARM64 code of Office to interoperate with x64 code of legacy add-ins," Mike Smith, Engineering Manager on the Office team, said in a blog post.

The 64-bit Office on ARM is currently in beta and available to Office Insiders for testing, although not all Office software is available in ARM-optimised form. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook are currently enabled as ARM64 right now, and other Office apps will run in x64 emulation mode.

To install the 64-bit version of Office for Windows on ARM, users need to be using a Windows device running on an ARM processor and Windows 11 Insider Preview build. Additionally, any 32-bit versions of Office should be uninstalled.

Microsoft says the beta version comes with some known issues, including bugs with animations, and style and colour inconsistencies. There is a bug that causes the document title to appear misaligned within the title bar.

Moreover, Microsoft Teams integration with Outlook is yet to complete, and some search features are currently not working properly in Outlook, Visio and OneNote.

According to Microsoft, Office desktop apps are also getting a visual refresh that 'will shine' on the new Windows 11 OS, although it will also be available to anyone using Windows 10.

The new Office has a similar design to Windows 11, which matches users' Windows theme. Whether someone has enabled white, black, colourful, or dark grey, the Microsoft Office apps will adapt automatically to match the look of the OS.

The new Office will also adapt to users' Windows light/dark theme as well.

Microsoft says this Office visual refresh is based on feedback from users who asked for a more natural experience within and between applications.

The refreshed Office is available to Office Insiders running Beta Channel builds. Users who don't want it can easily turn it off using the 'Coming Soon' feature at the top right-hand corner of the menu.