Microsoft Teams is getting new features - and Zoom should be worried

Microsoft Teams is getting new features - and Zoom should be worried

The endless Zoom meetings are draining. Sure, you get the occasional pleasant background view, but most of the time it's just a tedious screen-switching experience. But Microsoft Teams is poised to offer a new perspective on your work-from-home experience.

Among the features being added to Teams is a new way to keep meeting attendees focused, described in a Microsoft post as "Dynamic View." This feature allows meeting attendees to view the content of the presentation side-by-side with the meeting attendees, while at the same time customizing how that information is displayed on the screen.

The dynamic view allows you to customize how you want to see the content being shared. Instead of searching in the sidebar, you will be able to pin the participants you want to track on the screen. It will also be easier to see when new speakers begin to join or when someone "raises their hand" during a meeting.

Contrast this with watching a presentation or screen share on a service like Zoom. Usually, all you can see is the screen, except for the same faces lined up on the screen.

We first heard rumors of Dynamic View in July 2020 when it was announced along with a series of other Microsoft Teams features designed to make video conferencing more visually interesting and productive. According to Microsoft's roadmap, Dynamic View is supposed to arrive in March.

Additional updates to Teams over the past year include live transcription, live reactions, speaker identification tools, and an integrated task app that work together to make Teams a more flexible and user-friendly option. These changes make Teams feel like an acceptable option for everyone in large business meetings and classrooms, rather than a sigh-inducing headache.

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