What's new in the new Teams app

Keep all eyes on the content

Keep participants’ attention on whiteboards, printed documents, and other physical objects during a Teams meeting with a content camera. To learn more, see Share whiteboards and documents using your camera in Microsoft Teams meetings.

Archive inactive channels

Channel owners and admins can archive channels that aren’t in use without losing their messages, files, and tabs. To archive a channel, select Teams  , hover over the channel, and select More options   > Archive channel. To learn more, see Archive or restore a channel.

Never miss a notification 

See notifications directly from the Teams icon on your taskbar. 

Forward messages in chat

Relay the message without copying and pasting it. Easily forward a chat message to other group or individual chats. Hover over  a message, select More options    > Forward  . Then, enter who you want to forward it to and select Forward.

Change your status without opening Teams 

Update your presence status by right-clicking the Teams icon in your taskbar and selecting your status.

All your people, all together 

In the new Teams, select More apps   > People to manage your contacts and add new ones. 

All your meetings, all in one place

 Add Meet in Teams to review, manage, and prepare for all your meetings. To get started, select More added apps in the Teams app bar Then search and select Meet to add it.

See your status at a glance

Now you can check your presence from the Teams icon in your taskbar.

Make meeting backgrounds your own

Apply your favorite custom backgrounds when you join a meeting in the new Teams. Find your background by selecting Effects and avatars > Video effects on the pre-join screen.

Set a duration for your presence

Change your availability in Teams for a specific amount of time. Select your profile picture in Teams, select Duration, then choose your status and when you want it to reset. 

All your people, all together

You can now manage all your contacts in one place in the new Teams. On the left side of Teams, select More apps > People to manage your contacts and add new ones.

Your meeting avatar has arrived

Create an avatar to represent you in your meeting. By customizing your avatar the way you want it to look, you can be yourself and let people get to know you in a conversation, even with your video turned off.

Manage your notification settings in Teams

Teams notifications are now set directly in the app. Choose what activity you get notified about, when you get notifications, and where.

More reliable presence settings

The new Teams now consistently updates your presence as your availability changes.

Choose how posts show in channels

You can now choose whether new posts show at the top of a channel or at the bottom of it.

New notification style

The next time you get an incoming call or a notification that a meeting has started, you'll notice a refresh to the look and feel of the notifications.

Same org chart, new location

The organizational chart has moved. Instead of being a tab in the chat, hover over on someone's profile picture and the profile card will expand to show quick actions, as well as the org chart and contact info.

New Teams, classic look

You can now choose the classic Teams theme in the new Teams app. Update your theme in Settings to get that classic purple look you're used to.

Ring, ring—get notified on multiple devices

In Settings, you can now choose to receive incoming Teams calls on a secondary device, not just on your computer.

Search in chat and channel

You can now focus your search to the specific chat or channel you're in by using Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac).

Choose how notifications open

When a notification pops up, you can now choose whether the message will open in the main window of Teams or if it will pop out in a secondary window.

Speed dial is here

New Teams now has speed dial available. Choose which contacts get added so you can quickly pull up their contact info.

Focus your search

Rather than searching all of Teams, you can now use Ctrl+F to find exactly what you’re looking for in a specific chat or channel.

Build your team from the ground up

Get a fresh start and create your team from scratch. Then, add members and manage settings and assign co-owners.

Presenting just got better

Check out the new and improved toolbar for presenters, making it easier to manage your presentation during meetings.

The new Teams now supports app integration

Just like classic Teams, the new Teams app now lets you bring your go-to apps with you. So you can get your work done, all in one place.

New Teams, classic look

You can now choose the classic Teams theme in the new Teams app. Get that classic purple look you’re used to.

Choose where files open

Teams will now honor the settings you’ve set for how to open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

Teams templates now available

Let Teams do the heavy lifting by choosing one of the team templates available. Each template comes with their own set of apps and structure based on the kind of team you’re making.

Shush those notifications

Teams will automatically mute non-priority notifications while your status is set to Do not Disturb, including while sharing your screen in meetings.

Better, faster, and easier on your computer

The new Teams app uses fewer of your computer's resources while simultaneously being faster. Check it out for yourself and take the new app for a spin!

Manage private and shared channels

Team and channel owners can now manage membership and settings of their shared and private channels. Right-click the channel name (or select More options), then select Manage.

Record meetings that have dial-in participants

You can now record your meetings and one-on-one calls with people who call in using a phone, instead of the Teams app.

Know when someone's outside your org

When you @mention someone that's a guest or outside your organization, you'll see an External label next to their name.

Data loss prevention (DLP) policies

Your organization can set specific policies for what information can be sent in Teams. If a message you send contains any of the information blocked by your organization, that message will be deleted by your org's DLP policy and you'll be notified that it's been deleted.

Better, faster, and easier on your computer

The new Teams app uses fewer of your computer's resources and is all around faster. Check it out for yourself and give take the new app for a spin.

Better microphone experience

The new Teams app now automatically adjusts your microphone's sensitivity to better equalize everyone's voice in the meeting.

No more howling

Teams will remind you to join a meeting without audio when multiple people have joined from the same room. This will help prevent any screech or howling from speakers and microphones.

Reduced background noise with noise suppression

The new Teams can now block the dog barking, the leaf blower, and a bunch of other sounds you don't want your microphone picking up. To pick your level of noise suppression, go to Settings > Devices > Noise suppression.

Switch between accounts

Now you can switch between multiple accounts from the new Teams. Just go to your profile picture.

We've got apps in the new Teams app

Now you can link your go-to apps in the new Teams. Select Apps on the left side of the app and search for the ones you want.

Calling now available in the new Teams app

You can now call phone numbers via Teams, and if emergency calling has been turned on by your admin, then you can also make calls to emergency services.

Improvements to channels and online meetings

We're working to bring you your favorite features and functionality from classic Teams into the new Teams app.

Better performance, less effort

The new Teams has been reimagined from the ground up for a faster, simpler, and more flexible experience. The new Teams is twice as fast and uses less of your computer's CPU (Central Processing Unit)—aka the brains of your machine—so you can work more efficiently. Plus you'll get to where you need to be in fewer clicks. Learn more

Turn on Windows notifications 

To receive notifications and calls in the new Teams, you'll need to turn on Windows system notifications. From the Start menu, select Settings, then go to System > Notifications and turn on the toggle. Under Microsoft Teams (work preview), you can decide where you want notifications to show up. 

Improved channel experience

It just got easier for you and your teammates to work together. The new channels experience provides an organized and transparent way to share content and have engaging conversations. Learn more

Make an emergency call in Teams

You can now make calls in the new Teams app, even emergency calls. You will need to be connected to the internet.

Better performance, less effort

The new Teams app not only is faster at doing what you need it to do, it also uses less of your computer's CPU (Central Processing Unit)—aka the brains of your machine. This puts less tax on the computer and lets it work more efficiently.

Notifications now available when you're signed into multiple accounts

Regardless of which account or tenant your currently in, you'll be able to know when there's activity in one of the other accounts you're signed into.

In Teams, it's okay to talk to yourself

You can now start a chat with yourself. Use it for notes, reminders, whatever you need it for. It's your sandbox to play in.

Join a meeting from the calendar

To make it quick and simple to join a meeting, all you need to do is hover over the event in your calendar and then select Join.

Get notified when Windows blocks notifications

If your device settings are blocking Teams notifications from popping up, you'll get an alert so you can update your settings to let Teams notifications show.

Use keyboard shortcuts to answer and hang up Teams calls

To accept a video call, use Ctrl+Shift+A. To answer an audio call, use Ctrl+Shift+S. And to decline a call, use Ctrl+Shift+D. 

Your personal apps are now available in Teams (preview)

To find the apps you use every day, select Apps and then search for the app at the top left of your Teams window.

Manage private channel membership

Approve membership requests, remove members, and more. To manage access and settings of a private channel, go to the channel name and select More options  > Manage channel.

Share your whiteboard in a meeting

When you’re in a meeting, go to Share > Microsoft Whiteboard. From there you can choose from a list of existing boards are start from scratch. If a board is already associated with the meeting, it will be shared by default.

Transcription in meetings

Get a full script of what was said in the meeting when you turn on transcription. During any Teams meeting, you can start a live transcription of the proceedings. The text appears alongside the meeting video or audio in real time, including the speaker's name (unless they chose to hide it) and a time stamp. To turn it on, select More actions  > Start transcription.

Manage device settings

You can now manage your audio and video devices in Teams. Go to Settings at the top right of the app, then select Devices.

Manage the members of a team

You can now manage who has access to your team. Go to your teams list, then choose the team and select More options  next to the team’s name. Then, select Manage team. From there, you can approve requests for people to join the team.

Expanded view of the profile card in Teams

The expanded view of the profile card, which you might already know from other Microsoft 365 experiences, is now available in Teams.

On the expanded view you can see more detailed info, such as contact and LinkedIn info. It also gives you easy access to view organization chart information without having to leave where you’re at in the app. Which means you no longer have to open a chat to see someone’s organization chart.

Know which of your accounts is getting notifications

If you use multiple accounts in Teams, you will now receive notifications that tell you which account they’re from.

Record a one-on-one call

Now, when you call someone up in Teams, you can choose to record it so you can come back to it later. Simply select More actions  at the top of the screen, then select Record. You’ll both receive an alert that recording has started, and a red circle will appear at the top left of the screen.

Check the attendance of your next meeting

You’ll now get a record of who attended your meeting and for how long. To view the attendance record, go to your meeting chat, then go to the Attendance tab.

Get live captions in a meeting

To turn on live captions in a meeting, select More actions  > Turn on live captions. Teams doesn’t save captions of a meeting. If you’d like a record of what was said in a meeting, you’ll also need to turn on transcription. Go to More actions  > Start transcription.

Manage private channel membership

Approve membership requests, remove members, and more. To manage access and settings of a private channel, go to the channel name and select More options  > Manage channel.

Share your whiteboard in a meeting

When you’re in a meeting, go to Share > Microsoft Whiteboard. From there you can choose from a list of existing boards are start from scratch. If a board is already associated with the meeting, it will be shared by default.

Transcription in meetings

Get a full script of what was said in the meeting when you turn on transcription. During any Teams meeting, you can start a live transcription of the proceedings. The text appears alongside the meeting video or audio in real time, including the speaker's name (unless they chose to hide it) and a time stamp. To turn it on, select More actions  > Start transcription.

Manage device settings

You can now manage your audio and video devices in Teams. Go to Settings at the top right of the app, then select Devices.

Manage the members of a team

You can now manage who has access to your team. Go to your teams list, then choose the team and select More options  next to the team’s name. Then, select Manage team. From there, you can approve requests for people to join the team.

Expanded view of the profile card in Teams

The expanded view of the profile card, which you might already know from other Microsoft 365 experiences, is now available in Teams.

On the expanded view you can see more detailed info, such as contact and LinkedIn info. It also gives you easy access to view organization chart information without having to leave where you’re at in the app. Which means you no longer have to open a chat to see someone’s organization chart.

Know which of your accounts is getting notifications

If you use multiple accounts in Teams, you will now receive notifications that tell you which account they’re from.

Record a one-on-one call

Now, when you call someone up in Teams, you can choose to record it so you can come back to it later. Simply select More actions  at the top of the screen, then select Record. You’ll both receive an alert that recording has started, and a red circle will appear at the top left of the screen.

Check the attendance of your next meeting

You’ll now get a record of who attended your meeting and for how long. To view the attendance record, go to your meeting chat, then go to the Attendance tab.

Get live captions in a meeting

To turn on live captions in a meeting, select More actions  > Turn on live captions. Teams doesn’t save captions of a meeting. If you’d like a record of what was said in a meeting, you’ll also need to turn on transcription. Go to More actions  > Start transcription.