The Microsoft Teams desktop app is getting a new Compact mode that will let users see 50 percent more messages on their screen. This should be a welcome update for people using the app on laptops where screen real estate is precious, though this new Compact mode won’t apply to Channel messages.
On the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, the company explained that this new Compact mode for chats will start rolling out in the Teams desktop app in mid-February. Once it’s available, the option will appear in Settings > General > Chat Density where users will be able to choose between “Comfy” (the current experience) and “Compact.” You can see how the new Compact mode looks in the image below:
The chat experience in Microsoft Teams is currently pretty solid with message reactions, formatting options, as well as the ability to pop out the chat window. Microsoft also recently rolled out chat federation with Microsoft Teams for consumers, which allows enterprise users to invite any Teams users to chat using an email address or phone number.
Microsoft announced last week that Teams has now exceeded 270 million active users, an impressive milestone for a service that will celebrate its 5th anniversary in March 2022. Microsoft has been iterating on the app pretty fast since launch, even though it only took five years to get a very welcome Compact mode for chats.
