Microsoft's redesigned Teams app is now available on Windows, Mac

Microsoft launches redesigned Teams app for Windows and Mac, for a faster and user-friendly experience

Microsoft is rolling out a new improved version of Microsoft Teams chat client, rebuilt to be faster and user-friendly. The app will now finally be available for Windows and Mac to download for free.

The updated Teams app is now two times faster with 50 percent less memory, Microsoft said. The company reported that installing the app would be three times faster and launching or joining meetings two times faster, with the app now taking up 70 percent less disk space.

Microsoft has made major performance improvement, moving from Electron foundations of Teams, towards Microsoft’s Edge WebView2 technology. The company also adopted React JavaScript library and focused on improving the Microsoft Teams design with the Fluent design language system for several UI improvements.

The new Teams app had been in preview for months but is now finally launching with full advanced features.

“We have made notable progress since the launch of new Teams in public preview,” says Microsoft product lead Anupam Pattnaik. “New Teams now has full feature parity for almost all features including custom line-of-business apps, third-party apps, breakout rooms, 7x7 video, call queues, PSTN calling, contextual search in chats and channels, cross-post a channel conversation, and more.”

Businesses will be required to upgrade as the new Microsoft Teams features will now be delivered exclusively on this app.

“We’re also seeing significant performance improvements on Mac, including the ability to switch between chats and channels faster, and access relevant information quickly and efficiently with a faster scrolling experience,” says Microsoft. “Teams works natively on all Mac devices, including those with Apple silicon, giving Mac users an improved app experience.”

Enterprise users will soon be seeing a toggle of their existing Teams app, asking them to upgrade.