Microsoft has unveiled a new version of its Teams app, which has been overhauled from the ground up to improve performance and usability. Microsoft Teams has suffered from sluggishness and has been criticized for hogging system resources, so the new version promises to be twice as fast as the earlier version, using half the resources. Users should be able to install the new Teams app three times faster and launch and join meetings two times faster. Moreover, the new Teams app should consume 50% less memory and 70% less disk space. Microsoft has ditched the Electron foundations of Teams and moved towards Microsoft’s Edge WebView2 technology alongside a complete shift to the React JavaScript library and a focus on the Fluent design language for UI improvements. The new Teams app uses native materials as in Windows 11 to give it the feel of a native Windows app. In addition to performance improvements, Microsoft has also made a visual refresh to Teams, which now matches Windows 11. Rather than gray, Teams now has a white color canvas, with less use of the purple Teams color throughout. Microsoft Teams automatically switches to dark mode, making it easier on the eyes.
Microsoft has made many useful improvements to Teams. When a user switches between different Microsoft Teams accounts in an organization, the new client has an improved method that lets users see all of their accounts and notifications in a single drop-down menu. There is an AI-powered video filter that includes a number of animated frames and allows a user to change the video’s hue during presentations.
Microsoft is also positioning the new Teams client as the foundation for its future work with its Copilot assistant and other AI-powered features for Teams. Microsoft recently detailed its plans for Copilot in Microsoft Teams, which will enable one to invite the AI assistant into group chats to schedule meetings or to perform other tasks. Users of the new Teams client can try out the preview version, but will not have access to third-party apps or line of business (LOB) apps, call queues or advanced meeting features like breakout rooms. The preview is only available to commercial users of Microsoft Teams on Windows. Microsoft is working on bringing the new Teams client to Education, Government Clouds, and platforms such as VDI and the web later this year.
