Microsoft Teams now supports Apple Silicon Macs

While Microsoft hasn’t officially announced it yet, a downloadable version of Microsoft Teams that is optimized for Apple Silicon-powered Macs is currently available on the company’s website. It still seems to be in its beta phase so expect some bugs when you test it.

Due to the nature of Apple devices, numerous apps and programs aren’t always supported by the macOS platform. Even when your Mac has an Intel processor and can run some software with Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation technology, the software’s performance isn’t always the best. This new Teams version, however, bodes well for the future of Apple and Microsoft’s relationship.

Apple Silicon is a series of system processors that most modern Apple devices and products use. It had replaced Intel processors since 2020 and when on a Mac, it can typically run three types of applications: iPhone and iPad apps through the Mac App Store, apps designed for Intel Macs that can run through the Rosetta 2 translation, and “universal” apps. 

Before this, Microsoft Teams was under the second type as it didn’t support Apple Silicon. Recently, however, a file for a version of Teams optimized for this processor was discovered on Microsoft’s official website and can be downloaded by anyone. Teams has now become a “universal” app and is reported to be running much better on Apple Silicon Macs than before.

Although, since there’s no announcement just yet, this means that the popular communication app is still in beta and users will be encountering other performance issues. Hopefully, it’ll finally be given a public release sometime soon. After all, Microsoft Teams will soon be available on the Microsoft Store for Windows so it may someday be offered on the Mac App Store, too.