New Office design landed for Insiders in the beta channel

Jul 7, 2021 12:47 GMT  ·  By

Last month, Microsoft announced not only Windows 11 but also a major redesign for its Office productivity suite that aligned this product with the new operating system.

In other words, Office is getting a UI that makes it ready for Windows 11, though the same interface update will also be offered to Windows 11 users.

The modern Office approach pushes the Fluent Design language a step further by refreshing the ribbon, making everything feel reinvented thanks to rounded corners and a cleaner look overall.

“This Office visual refresh is based on feedback from customers who asked for a more natural and consistent experience within and between your applications, specifically on Windows. With this update, we deliver an intuitive, coherent, and familiar user interface, using the Fluent Design principles, across all your applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Project, Publisher, and Visio. We aligned this visual refresh with the design of Windows 11 to provide seamless experiences on your PC,” Microsoft said.

Available in the beta channel

The new Office UI is available for testers today, with Microsoft planning to bring it to everyone else later this year.

To give it a try, you must be part of the Office Insider program and be enrolled in the beta channel. Microsoft says the new feature will show up under the “Coming soon” section in Office, so users need to manually enable it one of the supported apps.

As for an ETA as to when Microsoft could finalize the work on this Office overhaul, no such information has been provided, but it’s pretty clear the company isn’t necessarily in a rush to make this happen, as it prefers to focus on the overall stability and reliability just to make sure everything works as expected.

This early version of the Office overhaul is still in its early days, so expect more changes to go live in the Insider program in the coming updates.