Microsoft Ignite 2022: Teams getting new Live Share and Intelligent Recap tools, Microsoft Places announced

Apart from launching new Surface PCs, Microsoft also hosted the Ignite 2022 event, where the company announced a bunch of updates for its in-house platforms. At the event, the company introduced new Team updates, Teams Premium and Microsoft Places, and updates to Viva - Microsoft's digital employee experience platform. The company says the new updates are aimed to improve hybrid work and help its enterprise users manage employees efficiently. Its video conferencing platform, Teams, added new updates like Excel Live and Teams Live Share.

Starting with the Excel Live on Teams, the feature enables every participant to live-edit the Excel file directly - right from the app. It means users can make edits without opening another window. Then, the platform is also improving Teams Live Share, which turns any app shared in a Teams Meeting into a "real-time, multi-user collaborative experience". Microsoft says the experience allows participants to interact and collaborate better. Teams is also improving hours and location tools to make it easier to schedule in-person meetings "by allowing people to specify where they will be working from and adjust on an hourly basis".

Microsoft has also introduced a new Microsoft Places - a Connected Workplace category to help new and existing employees know who will be in the office when and where people are sitting. It is mainly designed for managers to understand how people are using the office. It may help users optimise their real estate investments.

Lastly, Microsoft introduced Teams Premium at Ignite 2022, which includes an "Intelligent Recap". With the power of AI, it will act as a virtual assistant during meetings, even in your absence. It creates tasks, automatically generates chapters from the meeting and shares personalised highlights from the recording. Teams Premium also includes AI-powered live translations for captions, enabling meeting participants to view captions in any of 40 spoken languages, so everyone can join the discussion in the language of their choice. The company is yet to share availability details.

Meanwhile, the company announced a big update for iPhone users with Windows 11 PC. Soon, iPhone users can sync iCloud photos with Photos desktop app on Windows 11. Later, Apple TV and Music will also come on Microsoft Store.