Is excel on Rosetta 2 any good?

[Marty_Macfly]

Hi All,



Bit confused by the Msoft announcement about office 365 for AS.

Worse case scenario question, if we have to run excel by Rosetta 2 for the time being:

Is excel on Rosetta 2 any good?

Has anyone tried this already on the existing intel macs? Be a good benchmark for usability.


2 questions:

Q1) Once loaded, do you need to keep the app open constantly? else need to do the rosetta thing each time open up?!

Q2) Actually using excel - is it same as before, or with annoying glitches and bugs?



Hope you can advise! 🙂


Kind Regards
Martin

 

[James_C]

Martin,

The current stable release will run in Rosetta 2. There is also a beta release that is native Apple Silicon.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

Hi James,

I’m thinking about taking the dive and getting my 1st macbook.

I recently got an ipad and the excel implementation on that is really poor, so you can imagine I don’t want to be burn’t twice.

I understand the intel excel implementation on the intel mac books is fine, its just the ipad version is limited.


I’m trying here to gauge what excel is like when running from Rosetta 2. No definite timelines of when the native version of excel will come out.


Be good to just say:

“.....Hell, I’ll just get the base model M1 air for now to get up to speed on using macs, and save the money for the 2022/2023 suped up MacBook Pro, after a version or 2 on the redesigned chassis, with reviews on the micro led screens etc.

There will always be a reason to wait for the next iteration, so buy when you want to, with the best on offer etc.....”




Regards
Martin

 

[James_C]

I’m trying here to gauge what excel is like when running from Rosetta 2.

The iOS (iPad) version of Excel is shadow of the Mac Version. The Current Office 365 version of Mac Excel is a very close match to the windows version in terms of functionality. I certainly have no problems receiving and sending Excel files with Windows colleagues.

Given the power of the M1 chip I think you will be fine even using in Rosetta 2 if you don't want to risk the beta. However my advice is to wait until someone has a Notebook with Apple Silicon and look at feedback on Rosetta 2, They should start arriving on Tuesday next week.

 

[James_C]

Q1) Once loaded, do you need to keep the app open constantly? else need to do the rosetta thing each time open up?!

If you are using the current stable release of Excel that is not universal binary (Intel only) then when you first run any Intel App Rosetta 2 will need to recompile the App code to run on Apple Silicon this takes around 20 seconds and is a one time process when you first run an Intel App. After that it should open very quickly. You don't need to keep the App open, however if you have not used a Mac before, unlike windows when you close the last document, Mac OS does not automatically close the App as well, you have to manually close it. However the Mac manages memory very efficiently and most Mac users tend to leave Apps open.

 

[bradhs]

I'm curious as well. I decide to order the MacBook Pro M1 with the higher end specs just to try out Microsoft Office on it. Right now my MBP 2018 15" with an i9 process is constantly throttled and hot to the touch. It's a joke. I wouldn't mind the same performance but lower power consumption and heat build up.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

If you are using the current stable release of Excel that is not universal binary (Intel only) then when you first run any Intel App Rosetta 2 will need to recompile the App code to run on Apple Silicon this takes around 20 seconds and is a one time process when you first run an Intel App. After that it should open very quickly. You don't need to keep the App open, however if you have not used a Mac before, unlike windows when you close the last document, Mac OS does not automatically close the App as well, you have to manually close it. However the Mac manages memory very efficiently and most Mac users tend to leave Apps open.

Hi James,


Many thanks for the responses, much appreciated.

Its always better to hear user reviews, rather than articles trying to sell something to you!


Here’s a question:

Once the app is recompiled - can you simply save the recompiled app, and just run that each time? That will save time.

Be great if possible! 🙂


Regards
Martin

 

[James_C]

Here’s a question:

Once the app is recompiled - can you simply save the recompiled app, and just run that each time? That will save time.

According to Microsoft it’s a one time compile, it just needs to run once. After this, every time you run Excel it will not need to recompile again.

Are there any performance considerations for running Office under Rosetta 2 translation?

The first launch of each Office app will take longer as the operating system has to generate optimized code for the Apple Silicon processor. Subsequent app launches will be fast.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

I'm curious as well. I decide to order the MacBook Pro M1 with the higher end specs just to try out Microsoft Office on it. Right now my MBP 2018 15" with an i9 process is constantly throttled and hot to the touch. It's a joke. I wouldn't mind the same performance but lower power consumption and heat build up.

Hi Brad,

It would be great if you can report back on the this here! 🙂

I’m really just after a good UI, battery, and a usable Excel and filling system!

The rest is icing on the cake 🙂


Kind regards
Martin

 

[Fishrrman]

No one can answer your question, because the m1 Macs are not into the hands of users yet.

Ask again in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

Hi F,

Yup, when the M1’s are out, I mean‘t to say 🙂

Regards
Martin