Microsoft will soon provide a single Teams Windows and macOS app for all account types, allowing users to switch between work, school, or personal profiles with just a couple of mouse clicks.
The company says the new unified Teams application will be made available to commercial customers in April through the regular update process.
However, a preview version is already gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels using Microsoft Teams version 24057.2000.2723.3544 or higher.
It will also be automatically deployed on clean installs of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26080 and later (ISOs for this build can be downloaded here).
“Starting with Windows 11, version 24H2, Teams users will get access to a preview experience of the new, unified Microsoft Teams experience on Windows,” the Windows Insider team said today.
“Microsoft Teams will be available as a single application, enabling users to seamlessly switch between multiple cloud environments, tenants, and account types across personal and work.”
Microsoft also improved notifications to clearly indicate which Teams account they belong to, while personal notifications banners show more details and make it easier to interact with the alerts.
In future releases, Microsoft Teams users will be able to select the account they prefer to use before joining a meeting. Additionally, Microsoft will allow users to join Teams meetings without signing in for easier access.
While the current unified preview app experience is called “Microsoft Teams (work or school),” Redmond will switch to “Microsoft Teams” with an upcoming update.
The company also plans to simplify the naming scheme by removing “Microsoft Teams (free),” its current standalone consumer app for Windows 11, in future versions.
“We received consistent feedback from personal and work users: you prefer a single Teams app that allows you to easily access and switch between personal and work accounts. This update lets you use one app for all kinds of Teams accounts,” the company added.
“We listened to users about their communication needs in various aspects of their lives and how they want to use Teams. The feedback was clear that a multi-window experience is preferred.”
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com