Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 to Launch in Preview Next Month

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Key Takeaways:

  • Microsoft is set to roll out Office 2024 LTSC for commercial users on Windows and macOS next month.
  • Office LTSC 2024 will lack cloud-based features found in Microsoft 365 apps, including Microsoft Copilot.
  • Microsoft also plans to release Office 2024 for consumers later this year.

Microsoft has recently announced that Office 2024 LTSC will be available for commercial customers on Windows and macOS in April. The company has also detailed its plans to launch Office 2024 for consumers later this year.

The Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) of Microsoft Office is tailored for organizations that prefer a consistent release schedule with fewer updates. Microsoft offers long-term support for LTSC releases, which includes security patches, bug fixes, and other critical updates.

Microsoft highlighted that Office LTSC 2024 will come with several new features and improvements compared to the previous LTSC version. However, it’s important to note that Office LTSC 2024 doesn’t support the cloud-based features of Microsoft 365 apps. This means users won’t be able to access Microsoft Copilot, cloud-based collaboration capabilities, as well as related security and compliance functionalities.

“New features for Office LTSC 2024 include new meeting creation options and search enhancements in Outlook, dozens of new Excel features and functions including Dynamic Charts and Arrays; and improved performance, security, and accessibility. Office LTSC 2024 will not ship with Microsoft Publisher, which is being retired, or with the Microsoft Teams app, which is available to download separately,” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft to raise the price of Office LTSC 2024

According to Microsoft, device-based licensing with extended offline access will be available for Office LTSC 2024. The company envisions Office LTSC 2024 for specific use cases, such as process control devices used in the manufacturing industry and specialty systems that can’t be connected to the Internet.

Office LTSC 2024 will become generally available for both Windows and macOS users later this year. Microsoft plans to offer 5 years of support for this version on Windows 10 and Windows 11. The company will also increase the price of Office LTSC 2024 by up to 10 percent at the time of general availability.

Later this year, Microsoft also plans to launch a new perpetual version of Office, dubbed Office 2024, specifically for consumers. It’s important to note that Office 2024 will also get 5 years of support without any price hike.

Microsoft plans to share more details about new features that will be included in Office 2024 in the next few weeks. The company also intends to announce another perpetual version after Office 2024.