Microsoft Teams is giving users who hate meetings a great new mobile hack

If you’ve ever delayed joining a Microsoft Teams call in order to avoid making awkward small-talk with colleagues, or meeting someone you don’t actually know, a new update could be right up your street.

The video conferencing service is looking to make it easier for users on mobile devices from falling into this social minefield with a tweak that will now show the live status of a meeting.

This will mean that the Teams calendar on mobile devices can now give you much more detail on what exactly is happening before you join a call, including the avatars of the participants who have already joined – so you can spot if it’ll just be you and the CEO talking about the weather.

Microsoft Teams mobile calls

Along with showing exactly who is on the call, the update will also display whether the meeting is being recorded and the duration of the meeting – although we expect the latter part to only conform to calendar markers.

In its entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the update is confirmed as coming to both Android and iOS users. It is currently listed as still being “in development”, but has a scheduled rollout start date of January 2024, meaning users won’t have too long to wait to experience it.

The news is the latest in a series of upgrades made to the Microsoft Teams mobile experience in recent months as the company looks to ensure its platform is as useful and intuitive as possible.

This includes the launch of a simplified way for users to join Microsoft Teams meetings when using a smartphone, removing some of the unnecessary steps and making sure users are set up the way they like when joining a call.

The company also recently unveiled a new Microsoft Teams layout that it says makes navigating around the Android and iOS apps a lot simpler, allowing users to quickly and easily find the channels or chats they need.