Skip to main content

Microsoft Teams walkie-talkie comes to Android and iOS

Microsoft Teams has always had a walkie-talkie feature that allows users that are a part of the same underlying channels to connect smoothly through its web app. Now, this update can be accessed on both Android and iOS devices.

The walkie-talkie feature is accessible with Wi-Fi as well as cellular network connectivity. The PTT (push-to-talk) feature landed nearly two years ago for frontline workers on the Teams app to ensure smoother communication during the early ravages of the pandemic. Only users within a particular channel can interact with each other, similar to two users from the same team who can have a private chat via Microsoft teams. Outside parties and users can only engage if they have been granted permission or have been added to these channels.

Microsoft Teams walkie talkie.
The walkie-talkie feature gives Microsoft an edge over its competitors such as Slack and Zoom. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft has teamed up with Zebra Mobile to implement this functionality. Currently, this feature is not enabled in the app, and the average employee can’t do it themselves. To add it, organizations need to go to the “App Setup Policy” from the admin center. Once switched on, the feature will be available on the app within 48 hours.

This walkie-talkie feature will also be present on a wide range of Zebra Mobile devices geared toward enterprise use. The combination of this Teams feature and the PTT button on Zebra devices helps easier access and connectivity for essential workers. Additionally, the Reflexis Shifts Connector will have general availability in Teams from January 2022. This connector would integrate with the Reflexis Workforce Scheduler (RWS) and sync in real-time for assigning and managing worker shifts, which could be useful for hourly employees and contractors. 

Editors' Recommendations

Sahas Mehra
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sahas is a freelance writer who specializes in writing on Tech, Health & Wellness, and Gaming. He covers the Mobile…
Using an Android phone showed me just how bad iOS notifications really are
iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 16 notifications compared to Google Pixel 7 with Android 13 notifications

I’ve been using an iPhone for over a decade. I received the original iPhone as a birthday present in 2008, and after just four months of use (without a case, of course), I dropped and cracked the screen. With the iPhone 3G about to launch, I decided to upgrade to that, and I’ve pretty much bought a new iPhone every year since — including the iPhone 14 Pro.

Before Apple added Notification Center in iOS 5, notifications were just alerts that would interrupt whatever it is you were doing, until you took action on it or dismissed it. And once you dismissed it, that was it — it vanished, never to be seen again, so you may have missed something important if you didn’t remember what it was.

Read more
Microsoft Teams Premium uses AI to automatically recap your meetings
Three women in a Microsoft Teams meeting.

Microsoft has just made Teams Premium available for a short time. The preview will allow Microsoft's customers to test out some of the new features that won't be widely available for a while yet.

A few interesting features are making an appearance during this short trial run, including the ability to add custom branding to meetings, live translated captions, and meeting recaps prepared by artificial intelligence (AI).

Read more
Microsoft’s Surface Duo gets a Windows-style refresh with Android 12L
Surface Duo 2 on a textured background.

Microsoft is finally updating its Surface Duo -- ahem -- duo to Android 12 this week. The company broke the news on its official Microsoft Devices Blog after previously committing to rolling out an update sometime this year. Android 12 was made generally available by Google in October 2021, while Android 12L hit Pixels in March.

The star of the show here is Android 12's big visual refresh. Yup, Material You, dynamic color theming, and more are coming to the Surface Duo phones. The company as even throwing in four new wallpapers to highlight the refresh. However, Microsoft is going a step further by redesigning the Duo's software so that it'll look a lot like Windows 11. This is pretty obvious in that the system settings app and notification center now resemble Windows 11's versions of those features, and there are a lot of fluent design (Microsoft's design language) touches hidden in the company's preinstalled apps. In other words, the Surface Duo and Duo 2 pair are becoming true Windows phones. Of course, this illusion disappears when you dip into third-party apps, but if you're buying a Microsoft Duo, you're almost certainly a superfan.

Read more