Microsoft Teams is one of the most widely-used hubs for workplace and
organization, combining chats, video conferencing, and much more into
one experience. A major update is now rolling out that gives Teams a
fresh coat of paint and significantly faster performance.
Microsoft Teams is often regarded as being slow or taking up too much memory, which Microsoft cites as the result of using two different software frameworks at the same time (Angular and React). It also probably didn’t help that Teams has been running on Electron, a framework for turning web applications into “native” desktop applications, which can have similar resource usage as a full browser tab.
Microsoft has now released “the new Microsoft Teams,” which is an overhaul for both the interface and underlying code. It’s now based on WebView2 instead of Electron, and the interface has been fully reworked as React code with Microsoft’s Fluent design language. Microsoft has also developed a custom “client data layer” to split tasks up into more threads for faster performance. Video rendering has been updated too, but most of those changes were also backported to the old Teams app. Teams is also better at managing multiple accounts, with the ability to see notifications from any organization at any time.
The result of these changes is that Teams now looks and runs better than ever. Microsoft says that opening the app and joining meetings is now twice as fast, and switching between chats and channels is 1.75x as fast. Teams also uses up to 50% less RAM, and the disk space required has dropped by up to 70%. The new design also fits in better with Windows 11, Microsoft Loop, and other newer software.
Microsoft said in a blog post, “The new app is built on a foundation of speed, performance, flexibility, and intelligence—delivering up to two times faster performance while using 50 percent less memory so you can save time and collaborate more efficiently. We have also streamlined the user experience so that it is simpler to use and easier to find everything in one place. These enhancements also provide the foundation for game-changing new AI-powered experiences, such as Copilot for Microsoft Teams, announced earlier this month.”
Microsoft is hoping to release the new Teams to everyone “later this year in 2023,” and you might see a “Try the new Teams” toggle at the top of the Teams window soon. Some features, like third-party apps and advanced calling features, haven’t been ported to the new version yet.
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