M365 Changelog: Microsoft Teams – Together Mode Usability Improvements in Teams Meetings

MC551019 – Microsoft is bringing new usability improvements to Together Mode in Microsoft Teams. Participants in Together Mode will have name labels attached to their videos. Name labels will also support status icons that indicate microphone, active speaker, spotlight or pin within the meeting. Additionally, your own video in the gallery will now be removed while Together Mode is active to avoid duplication of the self-preview. Lastly, Together Mode will display raised hands and reactions within the view.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 122127

When this will happen:

Targeted Release and Public Preview: Microsoft will begin rolling out in early May and expect to complete rollout by mid-May.

Standard Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out in early June and expect to complete rollout by mid-June.

GCC-High and DoD: Microsoft will begin rolling out in mid-June and expect to complete rollout by late June.

How this will affect your organization:

When users go to View -> Together mode during their meeting they will be able to see reactions, raised hands and name labels with additional statuses like active speaker, pin or spotlight. This makes Together Mode more inclusive and easier to understand what is happening in the meeting.

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What you need to do to prepare:

You may want to consider updating the training materials and informing your users of this update.