The topic Microsoft Teams is ditching Together mode to focus on what actually matters — video… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Back in July 2020, to better serve the influx of companies moving to remote work, Microsoft added the Together mode feature to Teams. The idea was to remove the endless square grid of people’s webcams and instead place people into scenes such as a theatre or a room. That way, people would feel they’re together, without actually being together.
Well, the world has moved on since then, and Microsoft has announced that it’s going to get rid of Together mode just shy of its sixth birthday. As it turns out, Microsoft feels that Together mode was just one option too many, and believes Gallery does a better job anyway.
As announced over on the Microsoft Tech Community website, the company is removing Together mode on June 30th. Once the change rolls out, you’ll no longer see it in the View menu, and all scenes, custom scenes, and seat assignments will go away. Microsoft recommends that anyone who has used Together mode with special branding scenes instead use backgrounds.
So, why is Microsoft getting rid of Together mode, anyway? Well, the company says that it already has multiple modes, including Gallery, Large Gallery, and dynamic views, and it wants to help consolidate people’s options to reduce cognitive load and implementation complexity. Plus, by focusing on Gallery mode, Microsoft can achieve better things:
As such, if you or your business relies on Together mode, now would be the best time to swap over to Gallery and get used to it before June 30th rolls around.