Microsoft has announced the general availability of the eagerly awaited new version of Microsoft Teams for Windows and Mac, bringing enhanced performance, simplified user experiences, and innovative features to users across various platforms.
“Today, we are excited to announce the general availability of the new Microsoft Teams app for Windows and Mac including education customers. We’re also beginning to roll out new Teams to public preview for our Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and government cloud customers,” announced the tech company in a blog post.
Earlier this year, Microsoft launched the public preview of the new Teams app, aiming to revolutionize collaboration by offering a faster, simpler, and smarter platform. The results were impressive, with the preview version delivering up to twice the speed while utilizing 50% less memory than the previous version.
Since the initial preview release, Microsoft has made significant progress, achieving feature parity for nearly all functionalities, including custom line-of-business apps, third-party apps, breakout rooms, 7×7 video, call queues, and more. Focus has also been placed on improving reliability, security, and IT management aspects to meet evolving organizational requirements.
One of the standout features of the new Teams is its support for Multi-tenant organizations (MTO) and multi-tenant, multi-account (MTMA), enabling seamless cross-tenant communication and collaboration beyond organizational boundaries. This fosters greater connectivity among users across multiple tenants and accounts.
The transition to the new Teams is hassle-free, as users will be automatically upgraded in the coming months. To initiate the switch, users can simply toggle the option in the classic Teams app.
The performance improvements brought by the new Teams are impressive. Microsoft utilized the React framework to optimize speed and performance on Windows, leading to faster app loading, quicker meeting joins, and more efficient chat and channel switching, all while reducing memory and disk space usage by up to 50%.
Mac users will also experience enhanced performance and security, with improved app security and better utilization of device resources.
The new app also brings a simplified user experience with enhanced personalization options. It automatically adapts to system settings, offering light or dark mode, and improves support for users with color sensitivity. Keyboard shortcuts and screen readers are now more accessible, ensuring inclusivity for all users.
Additionally, it caters to organizations managing multiple tenants by introducing the Multi-tenant organizations (MTO) capability, streamlining collaboration across tenant boundaries, and improving people search results.
With these significant enhancements and its expansion into new territories, Microsoft Teams is poised to provide an even more versatile and efficient platform for users, making collaboration across diverse environments and industries more seamless and productive than ever before.
