Microsoft Teams Introduces Spatial Audio for Enhanced Desktop Meetings

In April, Microsoft revealed its testing of a feature called spatial audio for the desktop teams version. Now, this feature is accessible to all desktop users on Windows and macOS. The purpose of this feature is to provide a more immersive audio experience during virtual meetings. With spatial audio, each caller is assigned a specific position on the screen that corresponds to their location, resulting in voices sounding spread out during a call. This creates a more realistic audio environment, resembling real-life sound perception.

According to Microsoft, this feature allows users to have natural conversation and better voice presence. Now that the feature is available to everyone, users can benefit from improved audio meetings.

Information about spatial characteristics and its limitations

The surround sound feature is available for every desktop that supports sound. You can enable the feature in the device settings before joining the meeting. When you’re in a meeting, go to More, then select Settings and find Device Settings. Then choose between wired stereo headphones or built-in stereo speakers in the Speakers settings, and finally turn on surround sound.

“Teams Spatial Audio maps the location of each participant’s detected voice to their video presentation to make it easier for users to follow who’s speaking, better understand when multiple speakers are speaking at the same time, and reduce meeting fatigue and cognitive load,” Microsoft’s Hong Sodoma wrote.

But is everything sunny with surround sound, or are there some less talked about limitations to this feature as well? The feature does not support Bluetooth headsets or headphones. To use the surround sound feature without interruption, you must use a stereo-compatible device, such as a wired headset or a stereo-compatible laptop. Due to protocol limitations, Bluetooth devices are not currently supported. But soon we can expect stereo compatible Bluetooth devices to be supported in the upcoming LE Audio according to Sodom.

The Verge reports that Microsoft included support for Bluetooth LE in May, so Teams surround sound is expected to soon support wireless devices like Samsung, Sony, OnePlus, EarFun, and more.