Apple
Office for Mac 2014 Release May Arrive Alongside Office for iPad
The Office for Mac 2014 release could come in the second quarter, near a rumored Office for iPad release, to catch Mac users up to a more modern version of Microsoft Office for Mac.
Microsoft currently sells Office for Mac 2011, which is a usable Mac Office Suite, but it does not match the newer versions of Office on Windows.
MacWorld shares news of Office for Mac 2014, from German publication Computerwoche. The publication talked to Office Product Manager in Germany, Thorsten Hübschen, during Cebit to find out when we can expect a new Office for Mac release.
According to the report, Hübschen confirmed a new Office for Mac software suite is in the works and more information will arrive in the second quarter of 2014. This is not confirmation of an Office for Mac 2014 release date, but the source does confirm that Microsoft is working with large customers to prepare for a new Office for Mac software package.
Microsoft told MacWorld that the company is working on a new Office for Mac release, stating, “The team is hard at work on the next version of Office for Mac,” she said in an email. “While I don’t have details to share on timing, when it’s available, Office 365 subscribers will automatically get the next Office for Mac at no additional cost.”
At this point no one is talking about when an Office for Mac 2014 download will arrive for user to try or buy the new software suite, but with more news coming in Q2 214 that puts the timing near an Office for iPad release.
In February ZDNet reported that Office For Mac is still in development and that the team is ready to release the Microsoft Office suite for the iPad as soon as it is complete, even if that is before a Windows 8 version of Office with touch enhanced controls.
Office for iPad will likely require an Office 365 subscription, and it is clear Microsoft is pushing this solution to users that want access to the latest versions of Office on the most devices. Office 365 is a subscription service with varied pricing for businesses and home users. Based on Microsoft’s statements, users that buy a $69 Office for Mac Subscription on Amazon will gain access to the Office for Mac 2014 software when it is available.
This same subscription would allow the user to access Office for iPad, assuming both services make it out of rumor stage and into the real world in the next year.