Microsoft is expanding the number of people you can view on your screen at once during a Teams meeting. Currently, you’re limited to a small number of participants per video feed. Teams has been updated to support a 7×7 grid format that will allow you to see 49 people simultaneously,. And soon the Teams app will allow for a 98-person view.
The new feature is currently available in a public preview. It works by creating two 7×7 grids that users can flip between by using the provided navigation arrows. This feature could be expanded to add another grid to let users view more people in the future, but who really wants to toggle between multiple views? However, if you make the user’s feed images too small, it will ruin the overall experience, especially on smaller phone screens or laptop displays.
Microsoft, Google, and Zoom have all been working diligently to improve the user experiences on their respective video conference applications. Many people had to switch to working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That being said, larger meetings are becoming the norm, and being given the option to view more individuals improves the overall experience.
With Microsoft adding the 7×7 view and navigation arrows allowing users to toggle between multiple groups, the company will allow hosts and users to identify more viewers and interact with them on a whole new level.