Microsoft Teams can now turn your iPhone into a walkie-talkie

Two years ago, Microsoft announced a new walkie-talkie feature for Microsoft Teams. Now, the company is finally making it available to everyone that uses the software, including iOS devices. Head below for the full details on how it works.

As announced in a blog post, this new Walkie Talkie function is available in a wide range of Zebra mobile devices starting today so frontline workers can enjoy “clear, instant, and secure communication at their fingertips,” but, not only that, iOS and Android devices are also getting this feature.

“As the frontline faces continuous constraints from labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, they want technology that saves them time, helps them communicate more seamlessly, and maximizes their efficiency when completing repetitive tasks,” Microsoft writes in the blog post.

With this Walkie Talkie feature, as you can imagine, you can reach any contact you’d like by pressing and holding to talk. Microsoft Teams surely isn’t the first one to add such a feature, but now that it does, it expands the number of apps now making it available.

For example, Apple Watch users have had this feature ever since watchOS 5. You just need to open the app, connect with a friend, and start talking. Although this function was very anticipated, over the years, people are tending to use it less and less.

Although Microsoft Team is aiming this new feature for frontline workers, it can also be helpful for your everyday office work. Slack, on the other hand, bets in a different approach with its Huddle function. With a huddle, you can start voice chatting with a colleague about a task, tell them a joke, or simply get the job done. After you finish the call, you just have to press a button and keep your shift going.

Microsoft Teams also announced today the general availability of the Reflexis Shifts connector for Teams, also for frontline workers:

A Zebra-managed solution, this new connector extends the value of Reflexis Workforce Scheduler (RWS) to create a seamless, real-time sync for the viewing of shifts, assigning shifts, managing shift requests, and more, from within Teams on any device.

Make sure to update Microsoft Teams on your iPhone and iPad to start using these new features. What do you think about them? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.