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Microsoft Teams Blog
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A new look for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows

Matt-Taylor's avatar
Matt-Taylor
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Jan 30, 2023

A vibrant new look and feel is coming to Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows consoles and front-of-room displays. To make Teams Rooms even easier to use, we're aligning key elements of the user interface across the Windows and Android ecosystems. These updates will be generally available by the end of this quarter, in Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows application version 4.16.


Users will first notice the vivid new ambient screens and a refreshed calendar on consoles and front-of-room displays. They will also enjoy improved visual cues throughout the experience that make it easier and more intuitive to interact with the console. On the calendar, users will be able to scroll down on the calendar to see the schedule for the entire day.

Front-of-room display and calendar

 

Updated buttons on the console allow users to quickly access the most used features, including:

  • Meet: Start a new meeting from the room
  • Call: Make a call to a phone number or add a person from directory
  • Share: Share local HDMI content
  • Join via ID: Enables this Teams Room to join a Teams meeting using the meeting ID, with Direct Guest Join interoperability functionality coming later this year
  • More: Opens the overflow menu (see details below)

Console and calendar

 

The new overflow menu screen enables users to further interact with the room, and simplifies access extended features, like extensibility apps. Some examples of features on the overflow menu include:

  • Invite this room: Use the Room audio and video for a Teams meeting initiated on your companion device
  • Accessibility: Enable accessibility features
  • Report a problem: Report a problem to your IT admin
  • Restart device: Restart the device functionality
  • Settings: Access settings

In addition, error states and associated messages have simplified to help allow for quicker resolution.

Simplified error states

 

For enhanced customization, your organization will have a wider range of ambient screens to choose from than before, with five exciting new themes added to the eight themes currently available.

 

Accompanying the new look and feel, end users will enjoy more control of the front-of-room display during a meeting with an updated interface for the view switcher menu. Additionally, users will be able to customize the Front Row view, including visibility of the meeting chat, and choose which meeting component is displayed on the left and right panel. IT admins will be able to configure the default number of panels and default components on panel(s).

Choose view on display – Gallery Choose view on display – Front Row

 

We hope you enjoy this updated experience!

Updated Jan 30, 2023
Version 2.0

90 Comments

  • Wilfried van Oosterhout that’s a great question and was one the features we’d planned for this release. We plan to bring that feature where a custom theme specific to the console could be uploaded by customers in a future release. 

    SarahCrawford it’s planned to be launched in Q1. 

  • KRamachandra  Christian Hurtz I see I had to be more specific.

    We are use custom backgrounds on the front-of-room displays. At this moment the customization as far as I know is not possible on the console.
    In the new release the background on the console can be changed, will it then also be possible to use a custom background on the console?
    And can this be a different one then used on the display as the layout needs to be different on the console due to the placement of the buttons and calendar?

    You want to have the same look and feel on all your screens.

  • SarahCrawford's avatar
    SarahCrawford
    Copper Contributor

    Looks great. When is this going to be rolled out? Is there a launch date chosen?

  • jrbpt's avatar
    jrbpt
    Iron Contributor

    Will these features be released for GCC tenants at the same time as commercial tenants?

  • JoseSetienMDM , This will be the default look when the app 4.16 launches. TAC will soon provide a way to apply the new/custom themes remotely.

    dougschaefer the advanced controls and other buttons will be in the overflow menu in the 'more' button

    Wilfried van Oosterhout Custom themes are available in MTRW. On MTRA, we're working on this feature. 

  • Christian Hurtz's avatar
    Christian Hurtz
    Copper Contributor

    Wilfried van Oosterhout From my pov, custom branding is possible on MTRoW, we are using it on our test device. But a lot of companies will use MTRoA. Custom should be on high priority for MTRoA.

  • Like the new layout but why can't we use custom branding on this, similar issue with MTR on Android devices.
    Now we have custom branding on Surface Hubs and on the room displays on MTRoW, we would like to have the same branding on all AV systems.

  • Looks slick! I love the new themes.

     

    Can we configure this via Intune? or TAC only?

  • dougschaefer's avatar
    dougschaefer
    Copper Contributor

    Looks great! Where will the advanced controls button go on the UI in this new layout?