Microsoft has launched its Office Insider program, which gives members access to new Office features ahead of their public release. The program is exclusively available with an Office 365 subscription, and allows those using Home, Personal or University plans to install preview builds. Unfortunately, Office 365 Business plans are not supported, but those users are still able to test early builds via Office First Release.
Similarly to the existing Windows Insider program, members will be able to test upcoming features and updates to provide feedback directly to Microsoft, and help shape future builds of Office. Unlike the Windows equivalent, the Office Insider program will require a paid Office 365 subscription.
The program spans both the Windows PC and Android applications, but the Mac versions of Office 365 are not currently supported. Microsoft has promised support for these customers and should see access in early 2016. The program will provide preview versions of the following Office applications:
- Excel
- Word
- PowerPoint
- OneNote
- Outlook
- Access
For those interested, instructions on how to become an Office Insider are now live, with directions on how to access various Office previews on offer. An official announcement is yet to come from Microsoft and it is unclear whether this will replace the current testing methods for Office we have seen in the past.