Microsoft has announced a handful of new features for Teams Phone, which allow users to calls phone numbers from Teams, and vice versa. As usual, these features are meant to improve collaboration and make it easier to stay in touch.

There are a few new things being announced today, though some of them Microsoft has also mentioned before. For example, the ability to transfer calls from one device to another. There's also support for Apple Carplay, which makes it easier for users to take calls while driving. This was also announced earlier this month. Other new features include spam call identification for incoming calls, as well as the ability to attest calls made from Teams to prevent them from being labeled as spam.

Another new feature coming soon is call recording and transcription for Teams Phone. This is expected by the end of the year.

Calling a phone number on Teams

To help alleviate some concerns with the migration from PSTN calls to VoIP, Microsoft also introduced Operator Connect, a service available this week to help connect their PSTN service to Teams more easily. This can save customers money on infrastructure and setup. Additionally, it's making it possible to bring existing contact centers solutions to Teams. Eight solutions are already supported for this integration, and 12 more are being validated. Microsoft is also expanding Teams Calling Plans - which allow Teams to connect with PSTN-based devices - to five more countries, for a total of 33 countries supported.

Finally, Microsoft is adding new features for dedicated Teams devices. For starters, a new "better together" experience allows separate devices to work together, so, for example, you can use either a Teams device or a Teams client to mute or unmute during a call. There's also a new walkie-talkie feature for desk phones, allowing users to participate in a call using push-to-talk. This will be available in October.