Key Takeaways:
- Office LTSC 2024 is available for commercial preview on Windows and macOS, offering users a glimpse into its new features.
- The Long-Term Servicing Channel version of Office will receive 5 years of support on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
- Office LTSC 2024 provides enhanced capabilities compared to previous versions, but it lacks certain features like Microsoft Teams and Publisher.
Microsoft has announced that Office 2024 is now available as a commercial preview for Windows and macOS users. The next release of Office for the Long-Term Servicing Channel will receive 5 years of support on both Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems.
The Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) caters to businesses and government customers seeking a one-time payment option for Office applications, rather than a recurring subscription fee for Microsoft 365. It provides a subset of the features included in Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. The LTSC version is intended for regulated devices that cannot receive regular feature updates, as well as process-control devices in manufacturing that lack internet connectivity.
Office LTSC 2024 offers various new capabilities and enhancements compared to its predecessor. These include improved search capabilities in Outlook, new meeting creation options, new Excel features such as arrays and dynamic charts, and more. However, the latest release doesn’t ship with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Publisher. The former is available as a separate download and the latter will soon be retired.
Office LTSC 2024 lacks support for cloud-based features
Microsoft notes that Office LTSC 2024 doesn’t support the cloud-based capabilities of the Microsoft 365 apps, including real-time collaboration and AI-powered automation in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Additionally, customers won’t get access to Microsoft Copilot as well as security and compliance features.
“And because we know that many customers deploy Office LTSC on only a subset of their devices, we will continue to support the deployment of both Office LTSC and Microsoft 365 Apps to different machines within the same organization using a common set of deployment tools: Click-to-Run on Windows and Apple Package format (pkg) on Mac, just like Office LTSC 2021,” Microsoft explained.
Microsoft has released a detailed guide to assist organizations in installing the Office LTSC preview on both Windows and macOS. The company also plans to launch the consumer version of Office, dubbed Office 2024, later this year. It’s important to note that Office 2019 and Office 2016 will reach end of support in October 2024, and Microsoft advises customers to consider upgrading to Office 2024 once it becomes available.