These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.
Tired of zooming into work via webcam and staring at colleagues’ faces? This mixed-reality application for Microsoft’s Teams collaboration platform is a step toward the metaverse promised land, at least for desk-bound knowledge workers. Strap on a HoloLens 2 headset and pop into a meeting as an avatar that sounds and (sort of) looks like you. Mesh for Teams—part of Microsoft’s broader metaverse platform still under development—also includes pre-built meeting spaces and is accessible from smartphones and laptops as well. A goal, says Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft Collaborative Apps and Platforms, is to make online meetings “more personal, engaging, and fun.” People can go “beyond the current binary choice of video or no video.”
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- Coco Gauff Is Playing for Herself Now
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- If You're Dating Right Now, You're Brave: Column
- The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
- Fallout Is a Brilliant Model for the Future of Video Game Adaptations
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
