Microsoft is gearing up a host of new features for its Teams platforms, meaning we could get a new update sometime next month.
According to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, a host of new features are being readied for MS Teams, with an improved translate feature on its chat platform being among the biggest.
Microsoft has been working to develop a more intelligent translate feature that uses AI and machine learning to translate messages more intuitively than ever before. The result looks likely to take the form of inline chat functionality that automatically detects languages that are atypical for the user, before presenting a fully translated version – one that uses the latest technologies to ensure accuracy.
This feature has been generating some excitement among developers, but may only be available to Android and iOS users – at least initially. Nothing has yet been said about when it could make it to desktop users.
One feature that will almost certainly make it to desktops, however, is a ‘pop-out’ functionality within meetings. Currently, users are able to pop-out chats into their own windows, to have them to hand and refer back to as needed. This latest change will allow a similar function, but from within meetings, not just chats.
Developments such as these which reach the roadmap page are often fast approaching wide release and can be cautiously expected within months, if not weeks. That said, they aren’t guaranteed; Microsoft positions them more as a list of ideas it has in the pipeline, rather than imminent launches.
All this means that, anticipated as these changes are – and as much as those in the know would fully expect them to go live sometime in August – nothing is set in stone until Microsoft makes its official announcement. Of all the potential new developments and technologies within the Microsoft roadmap, however, the translate and meeting ‘pop-out’ features are widely expected to be next out of the blocks.
