Office 365 and macOS Big Sur: What You Need to Know

Microsoft recently released a redesigned Outlook for Mac e-mail client application, aiming to make it more like a native Mac app. However, some Microsoft 365 apps for Mac are not yet native M1 apps, but can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. Microsoft is working on providing universal app support for M1 Macs in the near future.

For users with automatic updating turned on, these updated Microsoft 365 apps will be delivered as early as this week. Office apps sold under Microsoft 365 subscriptions are also 'universal,' meaning they will continue to run great on Macs with Intel processors.

Microsoft's support for Macs using M1 technology means that core flagship Office apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote will run faster and take full advantage of the performance improvements on new Macs. This is a significant improvement, making you even more productive on the latest MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini.

It's worth noting that Apple also has Rosetta 2 software, which permits Macs with Apple-built silicon to run apps built for Intel processors. Additionally, all of Apple's Mac software is now universal and runs natively on M1 systems. By 'universal,' Apple likely means that applications run on macOS, iOS, and Android operating systems.

The M1 chip is optimized for Apple's macOS Big Sur, its latest major operating system release for the Mac. Apple described the M1 last month as its first chip designed specifically for the Mac, claiming speed advantages over Intel Core processors.

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