Microsoft has decided to remove the Together Mode feature from Teams, the one that during the pandemic simulated a virtual meeting room with avatars in a theater or cafeteria. The company believes it is time to focus resources on improving more technical aspects such as video quality and stability, leaving behind what they now consider a superfluous gimmick.
Goodbye to virtual seats, hello to real frames 🎥
The removal will be gradual: the Together Mode button will disappear from the view menu, along with associated features such as custom scenes and seat assignment. Microsoft will prioritize performance optimization in video calls, seeking to reduce CPU consumption and improve fluidity on slow connections. The decision responds to usage data that showed a significant drop in this feature after the end of lockdown.
The virtual meeting room is left without seats 🪑
Together Mode is going into the same drawer as the Office clip or Skype's 3D avatars. It was nice while it lasted: seeing ourselves seated in a virtual theater while discussing deadlines. But let's be honest, no one will miss having to explain to your boss why your avatar was floating above a chair. Now it's time to return to reality: just you, your grainy camera, and the microphone that doesn't mute itself.