The Microsoft Teams group has published a list of the new Teams features for April 2022.
The updates arrive alongside the launch of Microsoft’s Operator Connect Accelerator (OCA) which help carriers get OC approval faster.
Microsoft believes the biggest changes to the Teams application have been improvements to webinar invites and audio detection enhancements targeting frontline workers.
The latest updates affect nine areas: meetings, calling, devices, chats and collaboration, power platform and custom development, management, Teams for education, frontline workers, and the government.
Tom Arbuthnot, Microsoft MVP, spoke to UC Today about the latest Microsoft Teams news which includes a discussion about Operator Connect, Microsoft Teams app store and audio conferencing, Dynamics 365 Voice Channel, and more.
[embed]http://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/microsoft-teams-news-may-update-2022/[/embed]
Meetings
Join meetings anonymously: Users can now join meetings in other clouds anonymously from the desktop app, instead of via the Teams web experience. Commercial users will enjoy an improved performance by joining meetings in GCC, GCC-High, and DOD clouds.
IOS notifications update: Users can now preview collapse and clear all notifications because of a new notification drawer for in-meeting system messages.
System audio sharing: Audio can be shared from desktops during meetings which will allow users to hear simultaneously when listening to a video with sound.
New presenter mode controls: When presenting, users can resize their video feed and choose whether to appear on the left- or right-hand side of the content.
Meeting support in Firefox: There is full audio, desktop and window screen sharing support available for the Firefox browser.
Detect and suppress music: EDU customers can utilise ML-based noise suppression which can detect and suppress music playing in the background. The detector will inform users when music is present through a notification to choose whether it is wanted or not.
Live captions on VDI: Live captions can also be used in Teams on virtual desktop infrastructures (VDIs) for Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop.
Calling
Outlook contacts added to drop-down menu: For Teams users with an assigned phone number, Outlook contact with a phone number will now be available in the contact drop-down menu for calling.
Emergency calling banner: Emergency calling information can be shared by admins via a customisable disclaimer banner.
Call forwarding configuration options: Call forwarding settings can be configured by admins in the Teams Admin Centre or through the Teams PowerShell Module. Unexpected calls can now be routed to other workers or forwarded as a group call.
Devices
Cortana design change: The Cortana push-to-talk button moves to the bottom of the home screen to enable users to continue using Cortana while presenting HDMMI content. The ‘Present’ button has been moved to the Teams Room home screen and renamed ‘Share’.
Logitech RoomMate: RoomMate can run Teams Rooms on Windows. The device can be paired with a Logitech Tap touch controller, a MeetUp, Rally, or Rally Plus ConferenceCam on Android. It is compatible with Biamp, QSC, and Shure. RoomMate has HD video conferencing capabilities with single or dual display. RoomMate can be managed via Logitech Sync or Teams admin centre.
Logitech Tap Scheduler Panel: The Logitech Tap Scheduler allows workers to view meeting room information.
Yealink Teams HD IP Conference Phone: This conference phone has 12 built-in mircophones and an extra one for noise cancellation. It has a 20-feet and 360° voice pickup range. You can sync the phone with Outlook Calendar meeting schedules, connect it to your mobile device.
Huddly L1 and Crestron Flex: The Huddly L1 is now available as part of a bundle with Crestron Flex tabletop solutions which support single or dual video displays. Designed for meetings of all sizes.
Sennheiser TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker: Designed for mid-sized Teams Rooms, Cortana is integrated into the spealer and delivers real-time transcription for up to ten people in the room.
Yamaha ADECIA Ceiling Solution: This device automatically detects and configures devices in any room. The ceiling microphone has four beams to simultaneously track voices within the room.
Extron DMP64 & DMP 128 PLUS C V AT DSP System: Extron’s devices can be used to deploy Teams Rooms systems in any size environment.
EPOS ADAPT 361, 461T, and 661 Headsets: These headsets have been certified for Teams with a USB-C dongle. The ADAPT 361 is an over-ear headset that reduces background noise and connects with other devices via bluetooth. The ADAPT 461T is an in-ear neckband headset for use in the office or on the go. The ADAPT 661 was designed to improve efficiency and productivity in the mobile workforce.
Chat & Collaboration
Teams mobile text prediction: Teams mobile uses Editor Text Predictions to anticipate your word-choice or phrase to save time.
Power Automate templates added to teams templates: Select Microsoft team templates will include a Power Automate tab through which users can access Power Automate flow templates.
Fluent Emojis coming to Teams: All emojis and reactions are being updated to the Microsoft Fluent emoji style which includes over 1800 emojis.
Suggested replies in chats: Suggested replies are being added to chats, using AI to create three short and realistic responses based on the previous message.
File upload approval requests: Files uploaded to Power Automate will display within the view details window of an approval request.
