Microsoft Teams to gain Walkie Talkie feature and more in coming months
By Sean Endicott published
Instant communication will soon be a bit easier for groups using Microsoft Teams.

What you need to know
- Microsoft announced several new features that are on the way to Microsoft 365.
- One of the features announced is Walkie Talkie functionality in Microsoft Teams.
- Walkie Talkie support will be in private preview in the first half of 2020.
Microsoft announced several new features (opens in new tab) that are on the way for Microsoft 365, including Walkie Talkie within Microsoft Teams. Walkie Talkie support will be in private preview in the first half of 2020. Microsoft also announced new management features such as tasks targeting, workforce management integrations, and delegated user management.
Walkie Talkie support is the feature that will likely get the most buzz from end-users. As The Verge points out, Walkie Talkie functionality is surprisingly scarce in the mobile phone space. Microsoft built the Walkie Talkie functionality natively into Microsoft Teams, and it works over Wi-Fi or cellular connections.
Microsoft points out that this implementation of Walkie Talkie technology is more secure than analog solutions, stating, "Unlike analog devices with unsecure networks, customers no longer have to worry about crosstalk or eavesdropping from outsiders."
Microsoft announced several other tools and features for Microsoft 365. Here's a brief list of what's on the way:
- Tasks targeting, publishing, and reporting
- Workforce management integrations
- SMS sign-in
- Shared device sign-out
- Off-shift access controls for Teams app
- Delegated user management
- Inbound provisioning from SAP SuccessFactors to Azure AD
Most of these new features should roll out in the first half of 2020. They're all designed to make management, IT management, and communication easier for workers. In the blog post (opens in new tab) announcing the new features, Microsoft highlights how they're useful for firstline workers.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams allows you to collaborate with colleagues, upload files, send messages, and chat through video. It integrates with Office 365 and several other cloud services.
Sean Endicott is the news writer for Windows Central. If it runs Windows, is made by Microsoft, or has anything to do with either, he's on it. Sean's been with Windows Central since 2017 and is also our resident app expert. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com.
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Clearly the product manager of Teams is not busy at work. This would be a nightmare for me. I have to mute teams chat periodically throughout the day because I get blown up and can't get stuff done. Instant walkie talkie is a horrifying thought!
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This is actually a pretty cool feature, although a bit more cumbersome than using an actual walkie talkie (which is more likely to be on a belt or chest/arm clip so quicker to get to your mouth) as you would need to pull the phone from a pocket, unlock, then talk, unless it somehow worked while the phone was locked. On a less serious note, Microsoft just added the feature of talking to people on phones, what will they think of next?
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"The Galaxy XCover Pro smartphone from Samsung will have a push-to-talk button that can launch a chat on Microsoft Teams"
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