Today, Microsoft put an end to the Microsoft Teams chaos that has plagued Windows users for years. The company announced today that there will only be one Microsoft Teams app for Windows going forward.
You could say that Microsoft has come full circle here. When Teams first came out, it allowed all types of accounts. This meant that both personal Microsoft customers and work or education customers could use the same client to communicate.
Someone at Microsoft had the bright idea of creating a separate version of Teams for personal use. This caused confusion and made life a nightmare for users who had to use one or both versions of Teams.
Typing “Teams” into the Windows Start menu could bring up either app or both. This sometimes resulted in the wrong Teams app opening, frustrating users. It also didn’t help that a Microsoft Teams ad in 2021 caused Windows 11 systems to freeze.
According to Microsoft, the new Unified Teams app is now (again) available. The new app is available for users on Windows 10, Windows 11, and Mac devices.
Microsoft says that Teams will update automatically on Windows. The app is also available for download on the Microsoft website.
The new Teams app offers the following improvements:
- The ability to log in to multiple personal, work, or education accounts.
- Multiple accounts will open in “side-by-side windows from a single Teams app.”
- Account selection when joining Teams meetings.
- Ability to join as a guest.
- New community function for private users.
Microsoft introduced the new unified Teams app in March and has been testing it since then. The new app is pre-installed in Windows 11, version 24H2.
Microsoft has not said whether it is necessary to manually remove any of the applications from Windows devices.
Closing words
It took Microsoft far too long to realize that splitting Teams into two apps was a mistake. This mistake is now being fixed and should significantly improve the usability of Teams for its users.
Eventually, users will only have one version of Teams to choose from on their Windows devices. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to use a second version of Teams. One way to do that is to install the PWA version of Teams to better separate accounts.
Now you: Do you use Microsoft Teams? What do you think about the change? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Summary
Article name
Teams: Microsoft launches a unified app for everyone
Description
Microsoft has officially introduced the new unified Microsoft Teams app for Windows and Mac. It replaces the two Windows Teams apps.
author
Martin Brinkmann
editor
Ghacks Technology News
logo
Advertising
