A new view designed to highlight a specific speaker in Microsoft Teams calls is to help the platform prepare for features such as Zoom and Google Meet.
Videoconferencing platforms were all the rage as workers were forced to pack their backpacks and work from home. Even though many employees are now returning to the office, such tools remain an indispensable part of our daily lives to the point that companies regularly add new features to keep up to date.
Microsoft Teams now hopes it can prevent people from exploring other options by offering one more view for video callers.
Microsoft Teams speaker view
In the company entry Microsoft 365 Roadmap (opens in a new tab), the company says that the speaker view “highlights the active speaker while showing the other participants in the meeting.” It is not clear how many other participants can remain visible when speaker view is enabled.
Similar to the talking view on other video chat platforms, the main view is likely to dynamically adjust to who is currently speaking.
End users will be able to toggle this new view type from the view switcher which already allows other screen layouts.
The plans suggest that the new feature will first be available on web and desktop instances, indicating that the big screen format is a key priority for the company.
With that in mind, it’s possible that mobile devices will soon get an update for those who prefer to work on the move.
General availability is set for March 2023, which means if you previously considered switching to something like Google Meet due to the speaker view, you can hold off for a few more weeks.