Microsoft Teams first launched its Together Mode in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. It created a virtual background where all of an online meeting's participants could be seen on screen as if they were in an auditorium or classroom setting. Since then there have been improvements made to this mode, and this week Microsoft Teams is adding more in its Public Preview version.
The Microsoft 365 blog post stated that in the public preview, people will be able to see both raised hands and reactions from the meeting's participants for the first time. There are also new name labels that also include each person's status, such as if they are the active speaker, if they have the spotlight, or if their microphone is turned on or off.
Finally, the new Together Mode will no longer show the person watching the gallery actually being in the gallery to "avoid duplication of the self-preview."
Again, these new improvements are being tested in the Microsoft Teams Public Preview, which means IT admins will have to approve it. Also, this is just for Teams on Windows and macOS clients, at least for now.
