Microsoft Teams ‘2.0’ Preview: 5 Things To Know

Most new features for this version of Teams will become available in June, according to Microsoft.

Enhanced security, new features and better performance are some of the promises Microsoft has made with the new version of its Teams collaboration application now in public preview for commercial users.

The Redmond, Wash.-based vendor plans to make this new version of the Teams desktop app for the Windows operating system (OS) generally available (GA) later this year, according to Microsoft. Some Microsoft employees and experts have taken to calling the new version Teams 2.0.

Most new features for this version of Teams will become available in June, according to Microsoft. The vendor promises a resolution to customer “confusion” and “pain” around some classic Teams features with the advancements in new Teams. Although, for now, some classic Teams capabilities are not available for new Teams.

Microsoft Unveils New Upcoming Teams App

More than 280 million people a month use Teams, according to Microsoft. Teams now boasts more than 100,000 custom, integrated apps, and the Teams store now has more than 1,900 apps available. Some of Teams’ competitors include Zoom and Salesforce’s Slack application.

Public preview program users have access to the new Teams while other commercial customers need administrators to opt in, according to Microsoft. Users can switch to the previous version any time. The new Teams has no effect on Teams mobile users.

Here’s what you need to know.

Addressing Customer ‘Confusion,’ ‘Pain’

Lagging Teams performance “was the most consistent and pervasive customer pain point” with the regular version of Teams, according to Microsoft.

The former design of channels was “a consistent source of customer confusion,” according to Microsoft, with “many of the challenges people faced when using them were rooted in basic UX (user experience) problems.”

Instead of a chat-like model for channels, Microsoft has adopted a post-and-reply experience at the top, among other changes.

Microsoft also promises an easier way to receive notifications, search, manage messages and organize channels. Users can receive notifications on all accounts, not just the one in use.

Enhanced Security In New Teams

Microsoft also promises enhanced data security and simpler IT management in new Teams.

Enhanced security comes from Trusted Types adoption and a more stringent Content Security Policy to protect against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks on new Teams app users, according to Microsoft.

“Another key benefit of the MSIX installation of Teams is that it installs the app in the program data folder rather than the user profile folder which is not writable by the user and hence adds better protection against attacks that try to alter the installation,” Microsoft said in an online post.

New Teams Has Improved Performance

Microsoft promises a faster Teams desktop app with less memory used.

Users can install the app up to three times faster, launch it twice as fast, join meetings up to twice as fast, switch chats and channels up to 1.7 times faster and consume up to 70 percent less disk space.

Microsoft advertises enhanced data security and simpler IT management in new Teams.

According to the vendor, it has improved its authentication model, synchronization and notification systems for a better experience for organizations – such as partners – that handle multiple tenants and accounts.

“Instead of logging in and out of different tenants and accounts, you can now stay signed in across them all—receiving notifications no matter which one you are currently using,” according to Microsoft.

Microsoft achieved some of these Teams advancements through standardizing on Fluent UI instead of custom code, leaving AngularJS for React and leaving open source host Electron for WebView2.

Microsoft also lowered shimmering and reduced wait times to speed up scrolling in Teams. The previous version only allows ten items to load at a time.

More Emojis Among The New Features

New Teams also promises more emojis, including a “together emoji” that shows “a playful animation when two people high-five each other — the first of many more sentiments to come,” according to Microsoft.

The new Teams also will support capabilities powered by artificial intelligence (AI) such as Copilot and intelligent recap.

Users also gain the ability to use Loop components within Teams. Loop components include lists, tables and notes users can work on together with constant syncing.

Presenters in Teams will gain the ability to present and view audience members.

Administrators gain the ability to use Microsoft Intune and other app management tools for deployment and updates. Admins can even install and uninstall certain apps silently, according to Microsoft.

Some Classic Teams Features Missing (For Now)

Microsoft admitted that, for now, new Teams lacks some of the features in classic Teams, including breakout rooms, third-party apps and searching within chats and channels, according to Microsoft.

The following list of features are due later this year for new Teams:

*Mac support

*Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) support

*Web platforms support

*Education user support

*Government clouds user support

*Call queues

*Reverse number lookup

*Other advanced calling features

*Seven-by-seven video

*Breakout rooms

*Other advanced meeting features

*Channel announcements

*Teams and channel creation

*Cross-posting

*Search within chats and channels

*Line-of-business (LOB) apps

*Files app

*Third-party applications

The vendor lists the following features as available with the new Teams from the jump:

*Activity feed

*Chat

*Regular calls

*Teams-To-Teams Calls

*Meeting start notifications

*Custom backgrounds

*PowerPoint Live

*Teams and channels

*Multiple work accounts and tenants

*File downloading, uploading and viewing

*Chats and channels file tabs

*Approvals and tasks and other first-party applications

*Microsoft Viva and other M365 apps