Microsoft has released the latest beta of Excel, including support for Apple’s custom silicon chips.
At WWDC Apple announced it was moving away from Intel’s chips in favor of its own for its Mac platform. Next week’s “One More Thing” event is widely believed to be when Apple will release the first of the new machines.
Apple’s custom silicon is based on ARM chips—the same designs used in the iPad and iPhone. Apple is including a compatibility layer, Rosetta 2, that will allow Intel-based apps to run on the new chips. However, applications must be recompiled for the new architecture to be considered native and provide maximum performance.
As one of the most important Mac software developers, Microsoft is already working to ensure Office is compatible with the new machines. In particular, according to release notes, the SQL Server ODBC data connection is now compatible with Apple’s new chips.
The built-in SQL Server ODBC data connection provider will now support the new Apple Silicon devices as well as the TLS v1.2 communication protocol. This feature provides support for SQL Server ODBC data connections to work properly on new devices that have Apple Silicon processors, as well as support for SQL Servers that require secure connections via the TLS v1.2 protocol.
This is good news for users wanting to upgrade and hit the ground running as soon as the new machines are available.