The next big update to #MicrosoftTeams (dubbed Teams 2.0) will be faster, allow multiple accounts, provide seemless integration into #Windows11 and will look and behave much more like a native Windows app.. Yay.
Inline with the release of Windows 11 later this year (though will likely be in preview way before then), Microsoft is finalising the work on a totally resigned version of Microsoft Teams. Designed specifically for Windows 11 but will also be realised and will work on Windows 10.
What’s different?
The main difference between the existing Teams client and Microsoft Teams 2.0 is that the new version is based on Edge WebView2 rather than Electron. Leveraging Edge WebView2 allows for embedded Web technology such embedded as HTML, CSS and JavaScript along with the full power of the Chromium rendering engine. Microsoft will also move away from Angular and will instead now use the open source front-end JavaScript library React.js.
Introducing Microsoft Teams 2.0
The new Teams client is built around Microsoft Teams for the web though it won’t actually look much different from the existing Teams. The main changes come in the form of performance, application size, integration and extensibility.
A version that leaked on the Internet last week (with missing features) confirms the claims Microsoft have already made around significant performance increase whilst also runs better on lower-end devices due to reduction in both app size and memory usage. According to Microsoft..
“Teams 2.0 will consume half the memory of the current Teams 1.0 client”.
Teams 2.0 will launch instantly and users will no longer “get stuck” on the loading screen on older devices or when teams is loaded when lots of other apps are already open.
Unlike the old client, the Teams 2.0 app window can now be resized and the interface scales alongside it automatically. It will also support the new snap view and snap assist features in Windows 11. With Teams 2.0, Microsoft has also added integrations with native notifications and other features within both Windows 10 and of course Windows 11.
Teams 2.0 will also finally properly support multiple accounts without having to switch/log in and out of different Tennants.
Coming “soon”
Microsoft Teams 2.0 should be a welcome upgrade whe it arrives. I’ll update this one it enters an official public preview state or hear more official word from the Microsoft Teams Team!