Microsoft announced on March 11 a series of updates and changes coming to Microsoft 365 products, including SharePoint, Teams, and Defender, with several features being retired or improved throughout the spring semester.
The updates are expected to impact how users interact with core applications such as SharePoint and Teams. The company said these changes aim to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and reduce unnecessary notifications for users.
Beginning in early March, Microsoft will retire the Featured Links feature on the SharePoint Start Page due to low usage. Once removed, existing Featured Links will no longer appear on the SharePoint Start Page or in the SharePoint mobile app. The retirement will roll out gradually and is expected to be completed by late June. Support for Microsoft Defender on devices running Android 10 will end on March 31. After this date, while the app will continue to function on Android 10 devices, it will not receive new features, security updates or technical support. Devices running Android 11 or later will continue to receive full protection and updates.
Microsoft Teams is introducing several enhancements for mobile users. Users can now choose which browser opens non-Office and PDF links tapped within chats or channels. This preference can be changed at any time in the Teams mobile app settings. Additionally, a simplified app bar is being introduced mid-March to create a cleaner workspace by reducing visual clutter and making it easier to find commonly used apps.
SharePoint users will see improvements in the page template gallery along with access to 31 new templates designed for various communication needs such as announcements and news posts. When creating new content, users will now start from an updated template gallery rather than a blank page.
In April, Teams meetings started via Meet Now or chat will offer collaborative meeting notes powered by Microsoft Loop. These notes allow participants to create agendas, capture notes, assign action items during meetings, and connect tasks with Microsoft Planner and To Do. Notes remain accessible after meetings through the Recap tab.
Looking ahead, starting in late May Copilot Pages content can be moved directly into a SharePoint News post for further editing and publishing. From June 1 onward, Teams will stop sending email notifications about expiring meeting recordings; however, recording expiration policies remain unchanged according to university retention settings.
Microsoft said that additional enhancements are planned throughout spring as part of ongoing efforts to improve user experience across its suite of productivity tools.
