Microsoft confirms Office 15 look in Windows 8 preview
updated 03:50 pm EST, Thu February 9, 2012
Office 15 to get more sparing UI
The same Microsoft preview that discussed Windows 8 on ARM in detail also gave the first official appearance of Office 15. True to some earlier rumors, the interface will be much sparser than Office 2010 and, at least in the touch implementation, lets users hide the ribbon. Both the menus and the main document view have ample amounts of white space to improve their usefulness for touch.
Most other details weren't given out directly, but the app is known to be a traditional Windows desktop app with touch added on top rather than a Metro app intended for Windows 8 touchscreens from the start. Excel, Office, OneNote, Powerpoint, and Word will all be present.
Whether or not Office 15 ships in sync with Windows 8 is still up for debate. If it misses, those who buy ARM tablets won't have a native Office option until Office 15 arrives. [via The Verge]
