You can now use Teams to make calls and video calls from the car, and use the voice assistant to do it all without taking your hands off the wheel
Make or receive a business call on Microsoft Teams, even when you're behind the wheel of your car? Apparently, thanks to a new interface dedicated to phone calls richer in tools and support for in-car use, this will be possible starting next year.
With the arrival of 2021, Microsoft has decided to focus on one of its flagship projects by completely revamping the service dedicated to work groups. To do so, it has chosen to implement some important features, so far unjustifiably absent, which are particularly useful if you are away from your office desk.
Microsoft Teams, the new features
Thanks to a richer interface, the app will be able to show contacts, voicemails and call history directly with a tap of the finger. You'll also get spam call protection, caller search by number, and the ability to create multiple calls from single conversations.
You'll also be able to transfer calls from mobile to landline, even during an audio or video call, even from a non-audio device (for example, for screen sharing). It will also be possible to transfer a call and hang up on the other devices in use. SharePoint and OneDrive will also come into play, given the possibility of acting as folders for the recordings of meetings made through Teams.
Microsoft Teams and car calls, here's how it will work
Among the new options available from next year there is, as already anticipated, also support for calls made from your car. This is possible thanks to CarPlay, the mirroring system dedicated to Apple smartphones.
What does it consist of? Apple CarPlay is an application that allows you to use some of the most important iPhone features directly from the dashboard of your car. These include phone calls, text messaging, listening to music using the different apps installed on your smartphone, instant messaging services and, last but not least, satellite navigation such as Maps, Google Maps or Waze.
Microsoft Teams, in-car calls aren't for everyone
Also, with CarPlay you can take advantage of Siri, Apple's voice assistant. Through the use of the Apple system, it will in fact be possible to initiate a call or answer a call made via Microsoft Teams. The voice assistant will in fact be able to act on the Redmond application, quickly managing any type of interaction.
If for owners of Apple and CarPlay devices the future on Teams seems rather rosy, the same cannot be said for Android users. In fact, no support is currently planned for them, nor has Microsoft wanted to anticipate whether something similar, perhaps using the Android Auto standard, will be implemented in the near future.