A new Microsoft Teams application, faster and completely redesigned, is generally available for all Windows and macOS users starting today.
Microsoft says the app is now two times faster, uses 50% less memory, and takes up 70% less disk space than the Classic Teams application.
As revealed when the new Teams was made available as a preview release in March, the new client will launch three times faster, enabling users to switch between chats and channels up to 1.7 times faster than the Classic Teams app.
Since its introduction in public preview, Microsoft engineers have made substantial advancements, with the updated Teams client now boasting feature parity for most features.
The feature list includes custom line-of-business apps, third-party applications, breakout rooms, 7x7 video display, call queues, PSTN calling, contextual search within chats and channels, the ability to cross-post a channel conversation, and more.
"We have focused on providing high-quality performance and enhancing the basics in areas such as reliability, security, and IT management to make sure that new Teams meets the evolving requirements of your organization," Microsoft Teams Product Lead Anupam Pattnaik said.
"With the move to general availability, new features and enhancements will be available exclusively on new Teams. New Teams includes support for Multi-tenant organizations (MTO) and multi-tenant, multi-account (MTMA), which enable seamless cross-tenant communication and collaboration beyond organizational boundaries across multiple tenants and accounts."
The updated Microsoft Teams also integrates support for Copilot, Microsoft's AI-powered assistant designed to assist users in preparing for meetings and provide real-time answers during conversations with colleagues.
Redmond used the React framework to enhance the speed and performance of the new Teams application on Windows. Furthermore, it used Edge WebView2 as the host to lower memory and disk space usage, as resources are shared with Edge.
"We're also seeing significant performance improvements on Mac, including the ability to switch between chats and channels faster, and access relevant information quickly and efficiently with a faster scrolling experience," Pattnaik said. "Teams works natively on Mac, giving Mac users an improved app experience."
Those with Business and Teams Essentials licenses who want to switch to the new Teams app today can do so using the "Try the new Teams" toggle in the top-left corner of the classic Teams app.
For everyone else, including users with Enterprise and other licenses, the new Teams will become the default client as part of a rollout following this schedule.
Starting today, you also have the option to download the updated Teams client from the Teams Download page.
Microsoft Teams has seen a surge in users amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread shift to remote work, with the platform now boasting a monthly user base of over 280 million.
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Comments
mikebutash - 1 year ago
As usual Mac is a second-rate citizen, and Linux is distinctly not even there. So much for MS hearts Linux.
I did ask on their official page months ago, and was told Linux is stuck with the web version, which is abysmal to use as it never chooses the proper sound devices or gives a default choice still in 2023. Even then it simply doesn't work half the time in use, and I've had to use it a lot in the past few years from Linux that's my full-time use for near 20 years.
I would never pay to use Teams myself, but sadly all my enterprise customers use it, therefore I'm often stuck using it on their behalf. If they don't pay for the phone in option, I usually tell them they're using my Zoom or nothing. Microsoft loves to take their passive aggressive hate toward other OS's to Steve Ballmer heights still, but it's terrible they managed to indirectly force a broken Teams upon the rest of the world as a reminder of why we avoid anything Microsoft in the first place.
Mahhn - 1 year ago
This is very good news. The poor performance has been an issue with the big bosses that expected it to be great. They didn't realize it's still in beta mode.
nauip - 1 year ago
This will definitely get users to ditch Zoom, which is in no way synonymous with "Online Web Meetings" just as Google is in no way a reference to searching for something online.
(see also, Band-aid, Q-tip, Kleenex)