Microsoft Begins Rollout of New Teams App -- Redmondmag.com

Microsoft Begins Rollout of New Teams App

Desktop users should see an increase in performance with the updated app.

By Chris Paoli
10/05/2023

Microsoft on Thursday released its updated Teams client for Windows and Mac, which aims to "deliver a faster, simpler, smarter, and more flexible app."

The highlight of this update, which has been in preview since March, is the newly designed Teams desktop client that aims to prioritize performance. Microsoft touts that the new client is twice as responsive, while using half the memory and taking up 70 percent less storage space.

"We built new Teams on the React framework to improve the speed and performance of the app on Windows," said Anupam Pattnaik, product lead for Microsoft Teams, in a blog post. "Using Edge WebView2 as the host for the new Teams app helped us reduce memory usage and disk space as resources are shared with Edge."

Microsoft said that Mac users will also experience a performance increase and has been better optimized for those users with multi-monitor setups on Apple' OS. The Mac version of Teams will also include increased security protection through a "containerized app model," inclusion of Web-based Content Security Policy feature and a streamlined update process.

Copilot also makes its appearance in Teams, with new AI-powered capabilities, like the ability to review automatically generated conversation points and allowing Teams suggest action items based off of conversations. Users will also be able to search for specific information, whether found in a saved document, email or note, through Teams.

Also coming to the new Teams are multi-tenant organization (MTO) and multi tenant, multi account (MTMA) features, which look to create a more seamless experience when collaborating and connecting with others who may not be in an organization's specific Teams environment. "You can seamlessly engage with users across multiple accounts and organizations without having to drop out of a call or meeting, ensuring no disruption to your workflow," said Pattnaik.

Finally, Microsoft said it is enhancing the new Teams with a handful of user experience tweaks. These include:

Automatic adjustment to light or dark mode, based off of user settings.
The inclusion of Windows 11 color contrast themes, for those with vision issues.
Increased support and optimization for keyboard shortcuts and screen readers.

Business and Teams Essentials license users can start using the updated Teams app starting by selecting the "Try the new Teams" toggle on the Teams interface. Microsoft has released a rollout calendar for all other licensed users.

Or users can upgrade to the new Teams by manually downloading the new client here.

About the Author

Chris Paoli (@ChrisPaoli5) is the associate editor for Converge360.

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