Subj : Microsoft Teams' oddest feature is getting a major upgrade
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Mon Nov 06 2023 11:45:05

Microsoft Teams' oddest feature is getting a major upgrade

Date:
Mon, 06 Nov 2023 11:31:27 +0000

Description:
Expansion to Microsoft Teams Walkie Talkie allows for multiple channels.

FULL STORY
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If you've ever thought that Microsoft Teams could do with being a bit more 
expansive, then a new addition to one of its most intriguing features could 
be right up your street. 

The company has announced it is working on an expansion to Walkie Talkie mode 
for its video conferencing tool which will now offer the chance to 
communicate over multiple channels. 

This should mean that users can now connect quickly to multiple teams or 
accounts, hopefully improving communication and collaboration across projects 
and businesses. Microsoft Teams Walkie Talkie 

 First announced in January 2020 , initially for Android devices before e 
xpanding to Microsoft Teams phones in September 2021, Walkie Talkie is 
described in the roadmap entry as, "a push-to-talk experience that enables 
clear and secure voice communication over the cloud, enabl(ing) teams to 
communicate instantly on a channel." 

The feature is targeted at a number of specific industry use cases, and could 
reduce the number of devices employees need to carry each day while providing 
added security when compared to analog devices. It can work over both a 
cellular or wireless connection, with users simply needing to press and hold 
a button to speak to their team, and release the button to listen. 

The new addition, which has an expected rollout start date of December 2023 
for users on iOS and Android devices, will allow users to connect to up to 
five favorite channels in multi-channel mode, as well as being able to 
automatically listen to incoming transmission from these favorited channels 
and initiate easily initiate PTT transmission on these channels. 

Firstline workers can further boost the usefulness of the walkie talkie 
feature by connecting either a wired or wireless headset, as Microsoft looks 
to expand Teams to as many users as possible. 

The company has been working hard on making Teams a more pleasant experience 
for mobile users in recent months, including making it easier for users to 
join Microsoft Teams meetings when using a smartphone , removing some of the 
unnecessary steps and making sure users are set up the way they like when 
joining a call. 

It also recently unveiled a new Microsoft Teams layout that the company says 
makes navigating around the Android and iOS apps a lot simpler, allowing 
users to quickly and easily find the channels or chats they need. More from 
TechRadar Pro Check out our rundown of the best online collaboration tools 
available A whole load more AI could be coming to Microsoft Teams Microsoft 
Teams is getting a pretty creepy facial recognition tool - but it's totally 
fine



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsoft-teams-oddest-feature-is-getting-a-majo
r-upgrade


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