GoKawiilMicrosoft is preparing to roll out a new Efficiency Mode for Microsoft Teams for systems with limited CPU and memory resources to improve app responsiveness.
As the company explained in a Tuesday message center update (MC1287373), this new performance-optimized experience will be enabled by default on eligible devices and will also improve meeting quality by adjusting resource usage based on device capabilities.
When enabled, the video resolution sent from the user's camera will be dynamically adjusted in meetings, and the Teams app will launch without a pre-selected chat, showing a static image in the message pane instead.
This change will begin rolling out to Teams for Windows and Mac desktops in early May 2026 and is expected to finish by mid-May.
Teams users can opt out by going to Settings > General and toggling on the "Never use efficiency mode" option.
"Microsoft Teams will roll out Efficiency Mode in May 2026 for hardware-constrained devices, improving responsiveness by adjusting video resolution and app behavior," Microsoft said.
"Enabled by default with an indicator, users can opt out via settings. No action is required unless customization or communication is needed."
Incoming security improvements
Microsoft is also working to introduce a new tool starting in June that allows users to report suspicious external users, and a new Security Detection Report in the Teams admin center that will surface all messaging security detections (including impersonation attempts, malicious URLs, and weaponizable file types).
"This enhancement helps organizations respond faster to phishing, impersonation, and other external threats while leveraging end-user signals as an additional layer of protection," it noted in a new Microsoft 365 Roadmap entry added on Friday.
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