Microsoft is well underway with the development of Office 15, the next flavor of its productivity suite and the successor of Microsoft Office 2010, and might be set to have the first beta release in January, reports emerged.
Rumor has it that the first beta milestone of Office 15 might be released in late January, but that a Technology Preview of the software might be delivered a few weeks earlier, at CES 2012.
The application is expected to hit general availability towards the end of the next year, in December, to be more precise, but Microsoft will provide us with a glimpse at what it brings along much sooner than that.
The main change in the upcoming app flavor is the adoption of the Metro UI, which will bring Office closer to Window 8, which features the same interface.
The Metro UI caught a lot of attention starting with last year when it was made available for handsets running under the Windows Phone platform, but it was first introduced earlier, in Microsoft’s Media Center.
The UI is based on touch capabilities of devices and, with Windows 8 aimed mainly at mobile computers that feature touchscreen displays, it was only natural for Office 15 to sport a similar appearance.
We already had the chance to have a look at some of the interface changes that Microsoft planned for Office courtesy of leaked screenshots and some videos.
Microsoft’s CEO also confirmed that the company was preparing to slap the Metro UI on top of Office, while also stating that only Metro apps would be supported in Windows 8.
Windows 8, Windows Phone and Office are not the only places where Microsoft has started to use the Metro UI, but some of the company’s web properties are also displaying the same look.
With Metro on top, Office 15 is expected to provide users with a simpler, clearer view of their documents, emails and other files. Moreover, they will be able to use touch, pen and mouse to control the application.
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