Microsoft is making significant upgrades to its Teams platform, addressing longstanding user frustrations with a revamped interface and the much-requested addition of threaded conversations. Expected to arrive in mid-2025, threaded conversations will enhance message organization within the app, while other updates are rolling out sooner to streamline the user experience. The latest changes, available in public preview next month, reflect Microsoft’s commitment to making Teams a more efficient digital workspace for businesses and organizations.
Unified UI: Bringing Chats and Channels Together
One of the key updates coming to Microsoft Teams is a unified interface that consolidates chats, teams, and channels into a single view. Revealed earlier by Jeff Teper, Microsoft’s president of collaborative apps and platforms, this redesign aims to simplify navigation and streamline workflows. “We’ve redesigned the chat and channels experience to simplify your digital workspace by bringing chats, teams, and channels into one place under Chat,” Teper explained. By integrating these sections, Microsoft intends to make it easier for users to access, manage, and organize their conversations without constant toggling between tabs.
Starting in November, the public preview will allow users to experience this all-in-one UI. This upgrade also introduces customizable sections, so users can separate or group specific chats and projects, creating a personalized workspace within Teams.
Enhanced Features for Better Workflow
Along with the unified interface, Microsoft is adding new features to improve how messages and channels are organized and accessed. A favorites section will now display pinned chats and channels, allowing users to prioritize conversations and projects easily. There’s also a configurable option for viewing message previews, organizing channels in a single list, and adding time stamps to messages.
Moreover, a new @mentions view will help users stay on top of conversations where they’re directly referenced, whether in group chats or individual channels. This feature will roll out on both desktop and mobile apps, with dedicated updates for iOS and Android versions, ensuring Teams is equally user-friendly across all platforms.
Threaded Conversations: Improving Message Organization
Perhaps the most anticipated change is the addition of threaded conversations, set for broad release in mid-2025. This feature will allow users to group related messages within a single conversation thread, helping to reduce clutter and make discussions easier to follow. Microsoft began testing this feature with select customers in late 2024 and will expand testing further in early 2025.
Threaded conversations are expected to be a game-changer for Teams, as users have long sought a way to better manage the flow of group discussions and keep relevant messages organized. Teper confirmed the feature’s timeline, adding, “We are beginning to test threaded conversations with customers this quarter and will expand testing in early 2025, with broad availability expected in mid-2025.”
Mobile Accessibility and Future Updates
The upcoming public preview will also bring these changes to Teams’ mobile apps, enhancing the functionality for users on the go. Microsoft is actively working on updates for both iOS and Android platforms, promising a seamless experience across devices. By consolidating messaging elements and introducing better organization tools, Microsoft aims to make Teams more efficient for remote and mobile workers.
Microsoft Teams is set for a major transformation, with a redesigned UI and new features that prioritize user organization and accessibility. The introduction of threaded conversations will finally provide Teams users with a structured way to manage their chats, enhancing productivity and collaboration. With updates rolling out in November and broader features like threading coming in mid-2025, Teams is on its way to becoming a more powerful, user-friendly workspace. These upgrades demonstrate Microsoft’s responsiveness to user feedback and its commitment to continually improving its flagship collaboration platform.
