Or, you can use Google Docs or Open Office or something else. Alternatively, you may try to install Microsoft 365 apps from the Microsoft. However, this option may not be available for all users and may not include the latest features and security updates. You can just use Pages and Numbers, which you get for free with your Mac. If you cannot install macOS Big Sur or Monterey on your device, you may try to download an older version of Microsoft 365 for Mac from. If having Word and Excel aren't important enough to you to spend $70/year, then there are alternatives. But I'd imagine eventually it will be subscription-only. The old method where people bought it as cheap as possible and then didn't update for 10+ years was killing the industry.Īs you can see wit that link they still do offer a 'Office Home & Student 2019' one-time purchase for $150 if you really want that. Software subscriptions are the way things are going as the developers need a sustainable way to update software. A regular one is $100 per year, and they have a personal subscription for only $70 per year. You can use the current versions in the Mac App store with an Office 365 subscription. Catalina only supports modern 64-bit apps. There is obviously Excel for OSX and iOS, but that doesnt have anything to do with the file format. And for the first time, Screen Time comes to Mac, giving users insight into how they spend time in apps and on websites, and the ability to decide how to spend their time.So it sounds like you were using very old versions of Word and Excel that were 32-bit. The free LibreOffice Suite, a deliberate MS Office clone, offers a better Excel-compatible spreadsheet application (Calc) than does Apple.

With Mac Catalyst, a new technology in Catalina that makes it easy for third-party developers to bring iPad apps to Mac, users will begin to see their favorite iPad apps in Mac versions, including Twitter, TripIt, Post-It, GoodNotes and Jira, with more to come. If you do not presently have Apples Numbers v11.1 on Catalina, then you wont be able to download v11.2 or any previous version from the Mac App Store because it now requires macOS Big Sur or Monterey.

Voice Control, a transformative accessibility feature, allows Mac to be controlled entirely by voice. A new feature called Sidecar extends Mac desktops with iPad as a second display, or tablet input device using Apple Pencil with Mac apps. Adding to great entertainment on the Mac, Catalina also features all-new Mac versions of Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV apps. With macOS Catalina, users are able to enjoy Apple Arcade, a groundbreaking new game subscription service featuring new, exclusive games from some of the world’s most creative developers. MacOS Catalina, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, is now available as a free software update.

Excel for mac os catalina