Microsoft Teams Together mode

Microsoft has been working on a number of new additions to support remote workplace and education. In the next Microsoft Teams update, meetings are about to get even more interactive thanks to the new and improved Together mode, which is designed for everyone.

Together mode was introduced last year and more customers started using the feature in 2021. Together mode uses “AI segmentation technology” to create a live avatar for each participant and then project it into a virtual lecture room. All participants appear in the virtual room to create a real like-like conferencing environment.

Together mode has been created to make meetings more engaging and it also aims to project users in a way that would make the online conference feel like a real-life meeting. However, meeting organizers are currently required to use backgrounds created by Microsoft in their Together mode virtual rooms.

As per an update to the roadmap, Microsoft Teams will allow developers and users to create their own background options and upload them to the Teams library within their organization.

This feature is will allow anyone with skills to build their own scenes and improve the overall meeting experience. Creators, developers and professionals can create their immersive scenes and go beyond simply video conferencing in their organization.

Support for custom Together mode backgrounds will be introduced in June 2021, as per the roadmap.

New meeting controls

To support remote education and improve engagement in online classes, Microsoft Teams added support for the raise hands feature last year. As the name suggests, it basically allows anyone to click on a button within the top menu to ask a question during busy meetings.

To reduce spam, Microsoft Teams is getting a new option that will allow organizers and presenters to lower all raised hands from the participant pane.

For mobile users, Microsoft is introducing a new better experience for Large Gallery mode on Teams mobile. After the update, you can quickly swipe through all the participants in a meeting.

In addition, Microsoft Teams mobile is also getting support for the immersive reader, a new feature that will allow the app to read chats and posts out loud on your device, a which that was previously exclusive to the desktop app.

This functionality is coming to iOS and Android devices later this June.

About The Author

Mayank Parmar

Mayank Parmar is an entrepreneur who founded Windows Latest. He is the Editor-in-Chief and has written on various topics in his seven years of career, but he is mostly known for his well-researched work on Microsoft's Windows. His articles and research works have been referred to by CNN, Business Insiders, Forbes, Fortune, CBS Interactive, Microsoft and many others over the years.