Get ready for the new Microsoft Teams: 50% less memory, better battery life and more

Microsoft Teams 2.0: Rebuilt from the ground up

Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed to The Verge that Microsoft is preparing to release a new version of Microsoft Teams that has been rebuilt from the ground up to significantly improve its system resource usage on PCs and laptops. The software giant has reportedly been testing this new Teams client broadly inside Microsoft and plans to roll out a preview to Microsoft Teams users in March.

Known as Microsoft Teams 2.0 or 2.1 internally, the new Teams client app should use 50 percent less memory, tax the CPU less, and result in better battery life on laptops. The development of this new app has been a lengthy process that has taken years for Microsoft to complete.

While Microsoft has shipped some of the early work in the built-in Teams experience for consumers in Windows 11, businesses running Teams have still been using the older Teams client due to the extensive work involved in rebuilding the client. This new app moves Teams away from Electron and to Microsoft's Edge Webview2 technology, and Microsoft has also switched to React, a Javascript library, which will offer further UI improvements for Teams in the coming months.

Former head of Microsoft Teams engineering, Rish Tandon, has stated on Twitter that Microsoft's new architecture will be key for future Teams improvements. The new Teams app is expected to address many of the criticisms and complaints around Teams performance, particularly on older laptops.

The new Teams app is set to be released as a preview to Teams users in late March, with a toggle to switch back to the existing app if need be. The improvements should mean that Teams opens a lot faster or feels more responsive when presenting in a meeting or responding to messages. This new version of Teams marks a significant step forward for the software giant and is expected to be well received by users.