Planner app in Microsoft Teams to get new name and features in coming weeks

What you need to know

• The Planner app within Microsoft Teams will be renamed to Tasks.
• Along with the name change, the app will gain a list view and a new mobile experience.
• The new features and name should roll out in May or June, with a completion goal of mid-July.

Microsoft will rename the Planner app within Microsoft Teams to "Tasks" in the coming weeks. Tasks will also include a new mobile experience and a list view for task management. Microsoft shared a rough timeline and more details about the app's new name and features in a support email that was forwarded to us.

The new name and features for Planner in Microsoft Teams aren't new information. Microsoft discussed its planned rollout for Tasks in Teams last year at Ignite. It's also on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. What is new is the specific timeframe for the feature. The support email says that the rollout begins in May or June and should be completed by mid-July. The roadmap currently says it will be released in Q3 CY2020.

The Tasks app within Microsoft Teams will provide a unified view of assigned and personal tasks. It brings tasks from Microsoft To Do, Teams channels, Planner, and Outlook into one place. Microsoft summarizes the change within the support email and explains how tasks will be handled in a similar way to files, stating, "The new Tasks experience will contain individual tasks and team and channel tasks, similar to how Files encompasses a user's personal files in their own OneDrive for Business as well as their team and channel files."

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The new tasks experience will roll out first to non-mobile Teams experiences. After that, Microsoft will release the new experience to mobile versions of Microsoft Teams. For a few months, the app will have an interim name of "Tasks by Planner and To Do." That name allows people to search for Planner and still find the app, but after a few months, the name will be shortened to "Tasks."