Microsoft today shared a detailed look at all the new features that were released for its Teams collaboration platform this month. The list includes enhancements for meetings and webinars, Teams Rooms improvements, updates about new accessories, and much more. Here’s a look at what you need to know.
Meetings and webinars features
First off, there are updates for meetings and webinars in Teams. The company has released a chat bubbles experience that makes it easier for users to see messages by surfacing them on the screen of all meeting participants. The feature eliminates the need to open a chat window to read chat messages manually.
Next up, Microsoft Teams is getting an update that will let users include their device audio when screen sharing on mobile devices. This functionality has been available on the desktop for a while now, and it’s finally coming to iOS and Android users. The Large Gallery view is now supported in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), and it shows up to 49 participants on a single screen during a virtual meeting. Some other major features added to Teams in June 2021 are listed below:
- Microsoft is rolling out a new reporting dashboard for Teams meetings and webinars
- Microsoft Teams adds laser pointer and inking support for PowerPoint Live presentations
- Live Transcription with speaker attribution is now avaialble in Teams meetings for additional licenses
- Microsoft Teams meetings organizers can now spotlight multiple participants
- Microsoft Teams is getting a mobile-optimized Large Gallery layout for meetings
Microsoft has revealed its plans to extend the free audio conferencing and Microsoft 365 Business Voice promotion offers for eligible customers until December 31, 2021. If you are interested, you can find more information on the dedicated support pages.
Chat & Collaboration features
Moving on to chart and collaboration, Microsoft Teams now supports macOS native notifications, though this capability is only available on macOS 10.15 or newer. Microsoft has also added new Approval templates to the app for routine approval tasks like requests for overtime and expense reports.
In addition to this, the Microsoft Teams desktop app has recently introduced a new option to create Planner and To Do tasks directly from any chat or channel message. Other updates include the ability to customize the branding for the Yammer Communities app in Teams, and the firm is also rolling out a new offline mode for files to Android users.
Calling features and other updates
Moving on to calls, Microsoft has made some changes to the way the 1:1 Call recording option is enabled for users. IT Admins will be able to create their own policy to separate recording configurations between calls and meetings. Microsoft says that this feature is currently available directly from the PowerShell command line.
The software gaint has also announced some important updates for Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, and you can find more details in our separate post. Microsoft has also detailed its new Teams certified accessories, including a web camera, wireless headset, and speakerphone. Additionally, there are some new devices and accessories from Logitech, Lenovo, HP, and EPOS.
Last but not least, there are a bunch of enhancements IT admins, as well as security, compliance, and privacy features to help them manage the service. There are some new features for Government customers, including Together mode, call merge, Out of Office status option, Approvals in Teams, and more.
