14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced a series of OneDrive improvements specifically supposed to make its cloud-based service feel like home on Apple products.
The Redmond-based software giant says it’s been working closely with Apple to make the whole thing happen, and the first feature to come to users will be native support for Apple Silicon.
“We are thrilled to announce that later this year, we will be updating OneDrive for Mac to run natively on M1-powered Macs. This means that OneDrive will take full advantage of the performance improvements on M1, making you even more productive on the latest iMac, MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini,” Microsoft says.
In addition, Microsoft says it’ll also release improvements for the sync experience on macOS, with the OneDrive folder to show up under Locations in the Finder sidebar. Furthermore, the company says Files On-Demand will get new iconography to make it easier to distinguish online-only, locally-available, and always-available files.
“This redesign is aimed at rendering a seamless OneDrive experience that feels native on the latest version of macOS. Deeply integrated with Finder, this refresh anchors on simplicity to improve ease of use while providing all the same benefits and functionality you have with your current version of Files On-Demand in OneDrive for macOS,” the company explains.
Launching this year for Apple users
The syncing process will also support exclusions of certain file types, and later this month, Microsoft will also release offline editing with Office apps in iOS.
And just as expected, substantial performance and reliability improvements will be part of the overhauled experience as well, with Microsoft revealing that it has already reduced the CPU usage by no less than 40 percent.
All these improvements are projected to go live for users throughout the year, with Microsoft to share more information when everything is ready.