After months of testing, Microsoft Teams is now optimized for Apple silicon Macs

Microsoft Teams now runs natively on Apple silicon Macs, bringing faster performance and lower battery consumption for Apple’s M1 and M2 chipsets.

Microsoft Teams running on a white 24-inch iMac
Microsoft Teams for macOS | Composition: Christian Zibreg / iDB; Screenshot: Microsoft
  • What’s happening? Microsoft has announced that it’s now rolling out a version of the desktop Teams app that runs natively on Apple silicone computers. The new version eliminates the need for Rosetta emulation when using Teams.
  • Why care? If you use the app and have an Apple silicon computer, you’ll enjoy a much faster performance (especially when interacting with multiple teams) without sacrificing your battery life. Teams is among apps like Zoom that the world had relied on throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to rely on for remote work. At the start of 2022, Teams had 270 million accounts.
  • What to do? If you have an Intel-based Mac, continue using and updating your copy of Teams. The same goes if you have an Apple silicon Mac because Microsoft is automatically upgrading all macOS users of the app. The rollout on Apple silicon Macs will take a few months to complete so you’ll need to arm yourself with patience (or try triggering a manual download).

Microsoft Teams now runs natively on Apple silicon Macs

The upgrade had spent several months in development, and it’s now ready to roll out. According to Microsoft’s announcement, “a production-grade” version of Teams is now available as a universal download which will run natively on the entire Mac lineup, including computers powered by Apple silicon.

How to download Microsoft Teams

Microsoft provides a single version of Teams for macOS that includes code for both Intel and Apple silicon chips so you don’t need to choose the correct version to download. As mentioned, Microsoft’s auto-updated mechanism will automatically update your copy of Teams. Bringing the latest update to Apple silicone Macs will happen in stages, and is expected to complete over the coming months.

Microsoft is committed to innovation and committed to the Mac, so we’re excited to bring this to our Mac users. All Mac users will be automatically upgraded with their most recent update to Teams. The generally available (GA) version of the native Teams app on Mac with Apple silicon is being rolled out to customers in increments over the coming months.

So, be patient and check back later if you don’t have the new version yet. Or try updating your copy of the Teams app manually by clicking the settings menu next to your profile picture in the top-right corner, then select “Check for updates.”

Microsoft Teams for iOS and iPadOS [App Store link] is available on the App Store. The desktop Teams app is available to download from the Microsoft website. To use Microsoft Teams on the web in your browser, visit teams.microsoft.com.