Today marks the debut of the new Teams app, released in public preview for Windows customers. As one of our most customer and design-driven releases ever, it’s crafted from the ground up to be faster, simpler, and more flexible. It also reflects a multi-disciplinary journey of customer understanding — from redesigning channels and simplifying chats, to leveraging motion design and enhancing personalization options. Everything currently on view is the result of deep collaboration and iteration. While most features detailed here will be available this June, others will roll out between then and the end of the year.
The visual refresh in Teams includes more intentional usage of the signature Teams purple, as well as the introduction of the Windows 11 Mica material.
Product-making is often a dance between responsive and proactive decisions. Responsively, we want to understand and address customer feedback. Proactively, we want to explore new territory and dream up future visions. To find the right balance, it’s important to embrace something rarely valued in today’s fast-paced world of product development: self-reflection. For Teams, the app had such a meteoric rise since its 2017 launch that when envisioning its next chapter, it seemed vital to first look back. Essentially, did we get it all right the first time?
That question kickstarted ongoing conversations between PMs, design, research, and engineering. It prompted us to rethink foundational pieces like Teams channels, explore how to fully adopt Fluent Design System, and consider how to boost performance — a known customer pain point. We listened carefully to customer feedback, taking time to digest research insights to help us assess and validate blockers. And, driven by the conviction that people are inherently delightful, we wanted to iterate on new ways for people to personalize experiences, together.
It was only by dialing into what people were saying that we could affect meaningful change, which is what we hope you’ll see in our latest design. The public preview is currently available for Windows. General availability for new Teams on Windows, as well as a preview for Mac, is targeted for later this year. These are our first steps in an ongoing journey. We’re excited to share our work and gather feedback — so that we can continue iterating and rolling out these new features before the end of the year.
