Microsoft has made plenty of changes to the Microsoft Teams ecosystem throughout December 2022.
The company has made it easier to use Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android devices, improved accessibility features on the platform, added over 800 emojis, and more.
Here are all the changes that Microsoft made to the Teams platform in December.
Teams Chat and Collaboration
Microsoft has made it possible so users can now organise and easily remove chat conversations they no longer need without impacting other participants in the same chat.
Teams users can provide feedback to others more creatively with over 800 emojis that Microsoft says can be used for ‘every situation’. Users can communicate reactions to celebrate, express agreement, or emphasise the completion of tasks.
Group admins can now add new participants to group chats using the ‘@mention’, which removes the need to navigate the ‘add-dialogue’. Admins now control how much chat history can be shared with the new participant.
By deploying AI, Teams chat now assists users when initiating new conversations by recommending colleagues based on previous collaborations.
Microsoft’s resource-specific consent (RSC) permissions model has been extended for chat and channel scope. RSC allows users to request team owners to consent for a bot to receive user messages across standard group chats without being ‘@mentioned’.
The company boosted the capabilities of its Teams platform by adding Sign Language View and always-on captions in Teams Meetings. The feature allows users to prioritise up to two other participants’ videos for sign language in meetings so they stay visible while content is shared.
Teams Devices
A newly released Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android update included several touch-enabled experiences to enhance the meeting and collaboration experience.
Some new features include ‘walk up and use’ Microsoft Whiteboard, bringing Whiteboard into an ad-hoc Teams Meeting, a redesigned share menu, Whiteboard support, and more.
Whiteboard sessions can be started from a supported displays home screen anytime, including outside a formal meeting. A Microsoft Whiteboard session can be launched with one touch to allow instant collaboration.
Microsoft has redesigned its share menu to ensure that content sharing within Teams Meetings is now more accessible for users. When users tap ‘Share’ in the meeting control bar, they can find all content options that can be shared in one place, including Microsoft Whiteboard.
Touch screens now allow Teams users to control the room system from the touch display at the front of the room and the touch console. Microsoft has made it possible so that a 4K display is now supported further to enhance the meeting experience on larger touchscreen devices.
Microsoft has confirmed that Teams Rooms on Android can now display chats sent during a Teams meeting on the front-of-room display. Messages are displayed as chat bubbles to allow in-room participants to engage with the conversation happening in the chat.
With supported occupancy sensor hardware, a notification banner can be displayed on the Teams panel if the room is occupied when it is available or if the room is not occupied when it is reserved. The room will automatically check in when the sensor detects occupancy.
Teams Certified Devices
Microsoft granted Teams Certification to several devices throughout December 2022, including the following:
- Neat Bar Pro: The device is certified for medium-sized Microsoft Teams and can run natively on Teams Rooms on Android. It supports up to two large screens to allow people to view others and content more clearly while offering high-quality audio and video.
- Jabra Evolve Buds: The wireless earbuds utilise BlueTooth multipoint to keep them simultaneously connected to a laptop and phone. The Jabra MultiSensor Voic also reduces disruptive background noise, allowing users to take calls from anywhere.
- Jabra Evolve 2 55 Headset: The headset is designed to plug and play to a hybrid worker’s laptop so they can use it from any location.
- EPOS EXPAND Vision 1: The device is a portable USB webcam that delivers high-quality video and voice pickup regardless of working location. Users can easily adjust the picture and control settings such as field-of-view, lighting and colour.
Teams Platform
Microsoft has made it possible for approval creators to save a completed approval request to a PDF file and also have the option to print it. The feature allows customers to transfer their proof of approval as a PDF to another system or store it as a file.
In December, Adobe released its new integration of Adobe Acrobat into Microsoft Teams. The software can be set as the default PDF app in Teams to make it easier to share and review PDFs, collaborate with comments and annotations, easily access PDFs, and more.
Teams Frontline Workers
Frontline workers using shared devices can now use Edge and Yammer apps on Android alongside the Microsoft Teams platform. The company’s shared device mode allows users to authenticate easily by signing users in and out of all the apps that have enabled the feature.
