Microsoft Kicks Off New Teams Era With Rebuilt Windows App

Microsoft is launching a new Teams client today that’s been rebuilt from the ground up to improve performance and ease of use. The Windows app is launching in public preview today, and Microsoft says it marks a “new era” for Microsoft Teams, which has now 280 million monthly active users.

“We have been listening to your feedback which has culminated in a reimagining of Teams from the ground up,” said Jeff Teper, President – Collaborative Apps and Platforms at Microsoft. “The new app is built on a foundation of speed, performance, flexibility, and intelligence — delivering up to 2x faster performance while using 50% less memory so you can save time and collaborate more efficiently.”

Since its launch back in 2017, Microsoft Teams has often been labeled as a resource hog like Google Chrome, but the cluttered UI didn’t win any design awards either. While the app’s new architecture has apparently addressed the performance issue, the new Teams client has also received a fresh coat of paint to make the core Teams experience more accessible.

For people using Microsoft Teams to work with different organizations, the app now supports switching seamlessly between different 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,” explained Teper. This feature will likely make a lot of users happy.

Lastly, this new Teams client will support new AI-powered experiences. This will include the intelligent meeting recaps and Copilot for Microsoft Teams which the company announced earlier this month, but Teper teased that has “lots more to share in the future.”

The public preview of this new Microsoft Teams client will start rolling out today for commercial customers. After IT admins opt-in to it, Teams enterprise will see a toggle to switch to the new experience. However, individuals in the Public Preview program will be able to try the new Teams immediately.

Microsoft plans to release this new Teams client later this year, and if you’re a Mac user you’ll also need to wait until later this year to try this new client. In the meantime, Microsoft is also making virtual avatars for meetings available in public preview today.