The big difference between this program and Windows Insider is that you must already be subscribed to Office 365 as noted above to join. It’s simple and generally the features that get pushed to the insider program don’t cause Office in general to be unstable.
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The new inking capabilities-see the full list here-don’t require iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil-any Office 365 subscriber can use them in the Office for iPad apps, using an Apple Pencil, regular stylus, or even a finger, although active styluses like the Pencil will be auto-detected. Microsoft added that Office Insiders on Android devices will be able to try both PowerPoint Designer and Morph in the next Preview build. Up until now Office Insider has only been available on Windows desktop, Windows 10 Mobile and Android.
Another promise Microsoft had made months earlier was that they would soon provide Office Insider access to Mac users and sure enough, from today on, if you are a Mac user, you can opt in to the Insider program and get early access to the latest Office innovations.
Like the better-known Windows Insider, Office Insider serves as a feedback source for Microsoft’s developers, and its participants as guinea pigs for commercial customers. This update comes along with the one we wrote about earlier this week, as OneDrive gained 3D Touch and Apple Pencil support as well.
Draw tab-to make inking tools as easy to find as possible, beginning today we’re adding a new Draw tab at the top, in the Office ribbon. There’s also support for shape recognition – quickly sketching a circle can now result in a perfectly symmetrical circle, for example. PowerPoint on iOS, meanwhile, will get a new Morph animation feature. Instead, corporate administrators may register for what Microsoft calls “First Release”, the upgrade track that receives new features before any other.
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Mac users can also now participate in Microsoft’s Office Insider program, which rolls outs new features such as the ones above before everyone else.
