Microsoft Teams Room on Android Update (1449/1.0.96.2023031201)

In the last blog, we looked at Microsoft Teams Roon on Windows updates 4.16 that improves the overall UI changes and new features that Microsoft brings to meet the feature parity issues between MTRoW & MTRoA platforms.

This blog will look at the MTRoA update 1449/1.0.96.2023031201 released in March'2023.

This version brings new features and improvements that enhance the meeting experience and device management.

In the new UI, the Adhoc meeting experience is improved to meet with the MTRoW experience. Now you can tap on "Meet" it will instantly start the meeting. So, you can prepare for screen sharing/Invite others etc whereas, in an earlier release, it will take you to the participant search option.

Now the whiteboard app is moved to the front page. If you are using a touch-enabled screen, you can instantly initiate the whiteboard and collaborate like in Surface Hub.

Under the "More" option, you now have the option to "Join with Meeting-ID" to join the Teams meeting. This is one of the great improvements on MTRoA platforms. This feature only supports Teams meeting now, but MTRoW with 4.16 supports Teams and Zoom meetings. Will soon, MTRoA also will support both platforms.

Though it's best practice to invite the room calendar for the best experience, there are lots of situation users go with their phone and wants to join a meeting. Join with the Meet-ID option will help to support that use case.

New Video Layouts -

Teams Front Row - is a new feature that enhances the hybrid meeting experience for both in-person and remote participants. It allows the meeting room display to show a dynamic view of the remote attendees and the meeting content, chat, and other relevant information. It also enables the in-room camera to capture the entire room and use AI to crop and zoom on the active speakers, making them more visible and engaging for the remote participants. Teams Front Row is designed to make hybrid meetings more productive and inclusive.

Font Row Experience when no content is shared -

Font Row Experience when content is shared-

In this view, you can see the meeting chat on the right, and the Meeting title will be at the bottom.

Meeting Control Options -

You can enable/disable chat bubbles, Turn on/off live captions, turn on/off the remote control.

Now you can share your computer audio with remote participants through HDMI cable. This is at end user-level settings, and this can be managed meeting level.

Manage Teams meeting Audio/Video for participants. -

You have more control to manage your meeting from the remote console. You can enable/disable the attendee's microphone and camera settings.

You can easily move the participants to different roles e.g, Attendee/presenter.

You can manage the individual participant's Microphone, Cameras, Spotlight up to 7 participants in the call, pin the participant in the FoR display for personal view etc.

Teams Room Admin Level Settings -

If you have enabled Inbound calling, you can block the calls with no caller-ID. Now MTRoA rooms support emergency locations. Configure your network topology and assign the emergency call routing policy if you allow outbound calling options from conference rooms.

If you have a touch-enabled display, you can enable "Enable touchscreen console." So, you can start the meeting and manage the meeting controls right from the display itself. It also allows collaboration on the whiteboarding app.

You have the option to change the FoD and console wallpaper. Currently, we don't have the option to upload custom wallpaper. I hope Microsoft makes that possible one day.

Bluetooth beaconing in Teams is a feature that allows users to discover and join nearby meetings without having to enter a meeting ID. This feature can enhance the meeting experience by making joining a meeting from your laptop easier and faster using the "Remote Audio" option.

You can manage room audio/video/microphone/video layouts etc, using Room Remote option. Check this article for information.

Enable/Disable the whiteboard option on this device.

Enable/Disable chat bubbles - You can individually manage them in the meeting even if enabled here.

Teams Room Pro features -

Microsoft Teams Room Pro license supports E2EE meetings and watermarking on the video and consent sharing. The organizer needs a Teams Premium license to work in MTR rooms for this feature.

Extend Room Reservation -

- On the Teams Room console, tap the Meeting icon on the bottom right corner of the screen.

- Tap the Extend button next to the current meeting name and duration.

- Choose how long you want to extend the meeting for and tap Confirm.

- The meeting will be extended and the room will remain booked for the new duration.

Note: You can only extend a meeting if there is no other reservation for the room in the next 15 minutes. If there is a conflict, you will see a message on the screen and you will need to find another room or end your meeting on time.