Office 365 is the current version of Microsoft's productivity suite, but it requires a subscription to use, which doesn't please those who already have subscriptions to other services to pay for. However, Microsoft announced today that Office 2024 will no longer be sold this way, but rather with a lifetime license.
Microsoft indicates in the statement that Office 2024 will be sold in LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) format as a direct successor to Office 2019, the last version released without requiring a monthly subscription.
It makes sense for Microsoft to release Office 2024 at this time, as support for Office 2016 and 2019 will end completely in 2025 and the new version will be supported for 5 years with a perpetual license.
Microsoft says the decision to launch the LTSC version of Office came about because some people needed to work offline or with a service that doesn't receive new features frequently.
Therefore, the company claims that Office 2024 is a special product “for use in exceptional circumstances” and that “the future of work in an AI-powered world is in the cloud.”
There's still no set release date for Office 2024, but it will be available for Windows 10, 11, and macOS in 32- and 64-bit versions.
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