Microsoft Office 2019 Will Only Support Windows 10

In a recent post on its technical blog, Microsoft dropped some details about Office 2019, the most relevant of which is that you'll only be able to use it with Windows 10. Users running older versions of Windows will need to stick with older versions of Office. Of course, Microsoft would be more than happy to sell you an Office 365 subscription instead.

Windows users have been relatively slow to adopt Windows 10, an issue that was compounded by the fact that Microsoft was so pushy about getting its users to upgrade. For everyone who loves the latest version of the operating system, there are many vocal critics who refuse to update from an older version.

Microsoft's suite of office applications, however, remain the only option for many businesses and students. Those users have two ways of getting access to Microsoft Office, the web apps aside: by buying the suite or by subscribing to Office 365. Once Office 2019 rolls out, all users who haven't and refuse to upgrade to Windows 10 will need to gravitate to Office 365, stick with an older iteration of the company's office suite, or use the Office Web Apps.

According to Microsoft's recent update, Office 2019 will get five years of mainstream support, as well as about two years of extended support. This is a change from the previous five years of extended support. Explaining this change, Microsoft said that, "As the pace of change accelerates, it has become imperative to move our software to a more modern cadence."

The Windows 10 support restriction only applies to the Windows OS — Mac users don't need to worry. Microsoft Office 2019 is scheduled to launch in the latter half of this year, bringing with it the apps we're all familiar with including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.