Microsoft has announced a bunch of new features and capabilities that aim to streamline approval requests in Teams. Most of these updates are already available, while the rest are slated for release later this month. The first new feature that the company highlighted today is the ability to create approval requests with an electronic signature natively within the new Approvals app.

“Now, key partners like Adobe Sign, DocuSign and other 3rd party providers allow you to create an electronic signature approval natively within the Approval app. With this new feature, approvers can add their signature without leaving Teams, enabling an efficient and faster approval process. Once the approval process is completed, the information is stored in Teams, and you can easily access the approval record and view the eSignatures,” the company explained. eSignature support will begin rolling out at the end of this month.

Next up, Microsoft Teams is introducing customizable templates in the Approvals app this month. Thanks to this feature, team owners and IT Admins will get the ability to create new templates quickly, customize and publish them for common approval requests like overtime and expense reports. This should make it easier for end-users to create and submit an approval request right from Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft has also launched some other new features, including new attachment capabilities. Teams users can now attach a generic link or any relevant files directly from OneDrive and SharePoint while creating an approval request. In addition, the company has introduced markdown support in the detail’s view and adaptive cards of the app.

Finally, the app has added new “Approve” or “Reject” buttons on the adaptive cards, allowing users to accept or reject requests from within chats or channels. Microsoft noted that these buttons would only be visible to select users who have permission to respond to the approval request. If you’re interested to learn more about these updates, you can check out the official blog post.

Dell joins the crowd with a Springtime packed hardware rollout as it announces its refreshed and rebranded Inspiron lineup.

Today’s Inspiron unveiling marks the third device announced by the Dell within the first two weeks of April and based on their showing at CES 2021, there is still more to come.

Dell’s refreshed Inspiron lineup comes with five specialized variants that include the Inspiron 13, 14, 14 2-in-1, 15, and 16 Plus. The Inspiron 13, 14 & 15 are relatively identical in design with a spec sheet that includes:

• 11th Generation Intel processors with configurations from Core i3-1125G4 and Core i5-11300H up to Core i7-11370H.
• AMD Ryzen 5000 U-Series Mobile Processors
• 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State drives
• 11hrs and 16min battery life (for 13.3″ models)
• Fingerprint reader in the power button
• Lid-open sensor
• Intel Iris Xe, NVIDIA GeForce MX450, and GTX or RTX graphic options
• Adaptive thermals
• Thunderbolt 4 ports
• Dolby Vision support
• HDR display support
• 3K ComfortView Plus resolution
• 16:10 FHD or QHD displays with Anti-Glare panels with narrower borders
• 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x 4267MHz memory.
• 1.3mm key travel
• Spill-resistant blacklight
• Platinum Silver, Mist Blue, Peach Dust, Pebble Green color options

The main difference between the Inspiron 13, 14, & 15 models is highlighted in their display size, respectively.

Dell also boasts about Inspiron’s updated thermal management system that, “unleashes the power of your device while also preserving its thin design. Depending on your configuration; two to three fans, three or five heat pipes, and four vents work together for optimal heat dispersion.”

The other big changes coming to the Inspiron lineup is Adaptive Connected Modern Standby which improves on previous iterations as well as ExpressCharge Boost which enables charging from 0% to 35% in as little as 20 minutes.

Dell’s most popular laptop is getting even better. Announced today is the option for a new OLED display on XPS 13 models.

This new display option fits into the same 16:10 aspect ratio and 4-sided narrow bezel frame as you’d expect from the new XPS 13, but will come at a $300 upcost from the standard FHD display option. It comes in with a maximum brightness of 400 nits and sports a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. Naturally, OLED also means more vibrant colors and contrasts, too, over the traditional display panels on other laptops. This makes it a great option for photographers.

Officially, Dell says the new OLED display on the XPS 13 comes in with a 3456 x 2160 resolution. Dell is calling this “3.5.” resolution, but you’ll still find a 4K+ LED option if you want more pixels. Note that the OLED panel, is touch, too.

Elsewhere, the XPS 13 with OLED screen will feature Intel’s 11th generation processors under the hood, options for 8GB, 16GB, 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of PCIe SSD storage. It is now available for purchase.

Hot on the tails of all of the Age of Empires news that was announced this morning, a plethora of official merchandise based on the popular video game franchise was added to Microsoft’s Xbox Gear Shop online storefront.

Among the new items added to the Xbox Gear Shop were an official Age of Empires IV T-Shirt and jumper (see top image), a canvas, a pint glass, a mouse pad, and a premium print.

The Age of Empires IV canvas and print are interesting additions as they’re both the first kind of wall art added to the online store. This could mean that more high quality artwork based on Xbox video games is on the way which would definitely be interesting. Here’s hoping that whatever future artwork is added excludes the promo text from the images though.

Microsoft seems to really be ramping up its Xbox Gear Shop lately. In addition to expanding globally, the online store recently added new Halo merch and a number of Xbox Series X-related products.

Have you ever bought anything from the Xbox Gear Shop? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest and Twitter for more Xbox gaming content.

Fans have been speculating Microsoft is in preparation for a Springtime Surface event that could be host to a new Surface Laptop 4, headphones, pens, and other accessories.

Today, Microsoft stoked the flames of conspiracy with a teaser video posted to its official Microsoft Surface Twitter account. In the 1:31 long video, Windows, and Surface hardware lead Panos Panay narrates the dedication and design the engineering teams have put into all Surface hardware. However, there is an overall emphasis during the video placed on the Surface Laptop which culminates in several shots at the end of various people making use of the clamshell device.

There’s more to come… stay tuned ???? pic.twitter.com/84wXtcFISY

— Microsoft Surface (@surface) April 12, 2021

There is no date or timeframe associated with the video, but it seems perfectly reasonable that Panay and his team are ready to showcase the latest version of the Surface Laptop within the next couple of weeks.

Admittedly, Spring lasts until mid-June and the company could drag this whole marketing ploy until then, but as we’ve repeatedly reported, most of the specs and pricing have already leaked for a potential Surface Laptop 4, the only thing left to really report on is its official existence. From its spec bump-like processor upgrade to its potential new color, much of the Surface Laptop 4’s news has been covered over the past month, which has many, arguably, hoping for a little bit more from the company if and when they unveil its flagship laptop which includes talk of new webcams, removable SSD, and more.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the internet in the coming days to see if and when Microsoft might be ready to ship and sell its latest flagship laptop to the masses.

Last year, Microsoft unveiled a slew of updates for its Teams collaboration platform, including Dynamic view, live reactions, Together mode, and video filters. The company has now announced that the new Dynamic View is now generally available for public preview users in the Windows 10 and macOS desktop apps.

The new AI-powered feature enables Microsoft Teams users to share content side by side with meeting participants. “We have redesigned the meeting stage in order to optimize your experience of consuming shared content and engaging with video and audio participants. Dynamic View ensures that important items like audio/video thumbnails, content, pins/spotlights are shown as large as possible on your screen by smartly moving and resizing them based on the scenario,” the company explained.

The feature is enabled by default in the public preview channel of Teams for all desktop users. Microsoft noted that this update introduces a new optimized visual experience in Teams Meetings, and users will see the following improvements:

• The app will automatically optimize the layout to enlarge the shared content, with more participants being visible.
• Users can spotlight/pin particular participants in the meeting alongside the presentation to make their tiles larger than other participants.
• The meeting stage will show video and audio participants separately, and audio-only attendees will appear in smaller tiles.
• The Together Mode will appear alongside content during meetings.
• Users can now dock the participant gallery to the top of their screen to improve eye contact with other people.

The new capability has been designed to improve the existing meetings experience in the Teams desktop app, which only displays the video feed of the speaker in a tiny frame when watching shared content. Do you think that the Dynamic View will help improve the visibility of the shared content and key participants during meetings? Sound off in the comments down below.

Talk of Microsoft entering discussions to acquire more companies is showing no signs of slowingdown, whether its Discord for its gaming division, or as is now being reported, Nuance Communications, an artificial intelligence and speech technology firm.

According to sources close to the matter (via The Boston Globe), an agreement could be reached and announced over the coming week, though it is important to note that, as of writing, no agreement is in place. It is suggested that Microsoft is currently in discussions at a price point of $56 per share, but again, this price point could change before a final decision is made, or no agreement be reached at all.

To put that price per share into context, it would value Nuance Communications at around $16 billion, an increase of 23% from where Nuance Communications stood at the end of Friday.

For those not familiar with the company, Nuance Communications helped lay the groundwork for Apple’s Siri voice assistant. Due to Nuance’s involvement in speech technology, Nuance was involved in the original incarnation of Siri, and more recently, has worked alongside Apple on its Business Chat platform. Outside of Apple, Nuance has also had a working relationship with Microsoft itself, mainly focused on a number of health-related projects, including entering medical data into patients’ electronic medical records based on conversations between patients and doctors, which began back in 2019.

Nuance Communications could offer a range of benefits to Microsoft and its products, as artificial intelligence continues to be expanded. In recent months and years, we have seen AI being employed in products such as Outlook and LinkedIn to pre-empt what someone might want to type, and Nuance could help to expand this further with its expertise. If the talks progress to an agreement, we will no doubt find out more about what Microsoft’s plans for Nuance could be.

Should an agreement be reached for Microsoft to acquire Nuance, it is likely to be Microsoft’s 2nd-largest acquisition to date, trailing behind the $24 billion it threw at acquiring LinkedIn.

Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Microsoft just killed its Windows 10 Translator app

A month after the announcement, Microsoft has killed its Translator app on Windows 10, removing it from the Microsoft Store. Instead, users will need to make use of the web version in order to perform translations on Windows 10. Other Microsoft Translator apps, such as on iOS and Android, are unaffected.

Microsoft releases 64-bit version of OneDrive for Windows sync client in public preview

A 64-bit version of the OneDrive for Windows sync client has been launched into public preview. There are no new features in this release, but it is expected to perform more efficiently on 64-bit PCs.

Microsoft Paint appears on the Windows 10 Microsoft Store

Announced awhile ago, Microsoft Paint has been expected to arrive in the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 for a little while. But now, it appears Paint is finally arriving in the Microsoft Store, as some users can download it, though it’s not yet available for all Windows 10 users.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows 10 news.

Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

Microsoft stock on track to enter $2 Trillion evaluation club with Apple

With Microsoft’s market evaluation sitting at $1.9 trillion, its stock is on track to join the $2 trillion evaluation club, sitting along Apple, potentially in 2021.

Microsoft Rewards are coming to Microsoft Search for work/school accounts

Earning reward points through Microsoft Rewards is set to become possible with Microsoft Search for work/school accounts. Whilst users can currently earn Rewards points for searching with Bing, Microsoft’s roadmap notes that this functionality will be expanding to Microsoft Search. The expansion is expected to launch in May.

Hackers are trying to sell stolen data from 500 million LinkedIn users

Hackers are attempting to sell data of 500 million LinkedIn users, offering it up for sale on a forum. This comes on the back of positive financial results for LinkedIn. The data leaked could lead to an increase in spam and/or phishing attacks.

Microsoft celebrates 46th anniversary on Twitter by looking back at previous company logos

On 4th April, Microsoft had its 46th anniversary, and in the days following, its social media team have been celebrating by reminiscing over its previous logos.

Groovy. Microsoft’s first logo was introduced in 1975. pic.twitter.com/dsPGidN4wP

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) April 5, 2021

This week in Microsoft Teams

PowerPoint for Windows adds integration with Microsoft Teams meetings in beta

A new feature has entered beta in PowerPoint for Windows, which allows you to present your slideshow in Microsoft Teams from PowerPoint. Called PowerPoint Live, it will allow users to present in one click.

Microsoft Teams Rooms devices get custom backgrounds, Whiteboard integration, and more

A host of enhancements have been released for Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, including the ability to set custom background, Whiteboard integration, and the ability to record meetings directly from the device.

Microsoft Teams Meetings custom backgrounds are coming to iOS and Android, org-wide option also planned

Following in the footsteps of Microsoft Teams Rooms devices, Microsoft Teams Meetings on iOS and Android are also set to receive custom backgrounds in the future.

Microsoft Teams is getting a new multi-window experience for managing Live Events

Microsoft is now working on a new multi-window experience for managing Live Events, which will help solve the frustration of users having to switch back to the primary window in order to manage a Live Event.

Outlook can now share emails and attachments to Microsoft Teams chats and channels

Sharing emails and attachments with colleagues is now easier, as Outlook has added the ability to share them to chats and channels within Microsoft Teams, creating a more natural sharing experience.

Microsoft Teams will let users join a meeting with a digital code next month

Whilst other meeting platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet already offer it, Microsoft Teams is now working on allowing users to join a meeting by entering a meeting ID.

That’s it for this week. We will be back next week with more Microsoft news.

As Microsoft is expected to announce a refresh of its Surface Laptop line very soon, a new report from Winfuture’s Roland Quandt revealed the pricing details and the release date for the Surface Laptop 4 in Europe, which could start shipping in the old continent on April 27.

The report doesn’t include pricing details for all different configurations of the Surface Laptop 4, but the 13.5 model with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage could start at €1,149. In the US, Quandt is reporting that the base Core i5 model with just 128GB of storage could start at $999, but European prices for this model are still unknown.

PS: there is a R5SE/8/128GB and a i5/8/128GB base model that we couldn't find Euro prices for yet. i5 starts at 999 USD afaik.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) April 9, 2021

The 15” Surface Laptop 3 was the first Surface device to offer AMD processors back in October 2019, but the Surface Laptop 4 will offer the choice between Intel and AMD chips on both 13” and 15” configurations. For Intel models, Microsoft opted for 11th-gen Core i5 and i7 chips with Iris Plus Graphics 950, and not the more powerful Iris Xe Graphics found on the Surface Pro 7+ released earlier this year. For AMD models, Microsoft apparently chose Ryzen 5 4680 U and Ryzen 7 4980 U Surface Edition chips, which aren’t the newer Ryzen 5000U series we previously speculated.

According to Quandt, the Intel variants of the Surface Laptop 4 could be a bit more expensive than their Intel counterparts: As an example, there’s a $100 difference between the “15 Surface Laptop 4 with a Ryzen 7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and its Intel variant with the same amount of RAM and storage but a Core i7 processor that is apparently worth an extra $100.

It’s also worth noting that only the 15” Intel models of the Surface Laptop 4 will offer up to 1TB of SSD storage and 32 GB of RAM, with the AMD variants only allowing up to 16GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. You can find more details about the different Surface Laptop 4 models Quandt found below:

• Surface Laptop 4 13.5 i5 8 GB 512GB: 1499 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 13.5 i5 16 GB 512GB: 1699 Euro (?)
• Surface Laptop 4 13.5 i7 16 GB 512GB: 1899 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 13.5 Ryzen 5 SE 8 GB 256GB: 1149 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 13.5 Ryzen 5 SE 16 GB 256GB: 1399 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 15 i7 16 GB 512GB: 1999 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 15 i7 32 GB 1TB: 2699 Euro (?)
• Surface Laptop 4 15 Ryzen 7SE 8 GB 256GB: 1499 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 15 Ryzen 7SE 8 GB 512GB: 1699 Euro
• Surface Laptop 4 15 Ryzen 7SE 16 GB 512GB: 1899 Euro

Compared to the Surface Laptop 3, the Surface Laptop 4 isn’t expected to introduce any design changes except for the possible addition of a new “Cobalt Blue” color. Other than that, the Surface Laptop 4 should bring a minor spec bump to the product line, and power users looking for a “Pro” version of the Laptop with a dedicated GPU will need to look at the Surface Book 3 with its optional NVIDIA GPUs.

Well, that happened quickly. Less than a month ago, Microsoft announced that it would be shutting down its Windows 10 Microsoft Translator app in favor of a web experience on April 8th and, well, the day has arrived and the app is now no longer available to download from the Microsoft Store app store (though its app page is still live.)

“The Microsoft Translator app for Windows desktop will no longer be available for download, beginning April 8, 2021,” the original statement read. “If you have already downloaded the desktop app, it will continue to work however technical support and updates to the service will no longer be provided. This does not affect any other translation features in Microsoft products that use the Microsoft Translator service.”

As stated, none of the other Microsoft Translator tools have been affected. For example, both the iOS and Android Translator apps are still functional and should continue to receive updates going forward. The relatively new web experience, which is accessible on all devices via any web browser, also supports all of the functionality of the Windows 10 app and will gain even more features going forward.

Microsoft Translator started out as a basic text translation app though has since evolved into a genuinely powerful real-time speech interpretation tool with a number of use cases.

Are you disappointed to see the Microsoft Translator app disappear? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter and Pinterest for more Microsoft app news.

Microsoft has announced a slew of new features for Teams Rooms devices, the dedicated calling and meeting room solutions for professional conference spaces or home offices. These updates are specifically available for the Android-powered integrated Teams Rooms devices containing speakers, mics, and a camera, as well as the optional Touch consoles providing desk controls for the meeting experience.

First off, Microsoft is adding some new capabilities for consumers (such as custom backgrounds and recordings) to help them better manage their meetings. Users who logged into a Teams Rooms on Android with a personal account will now be able to blur or completely replace the background of a video feed with a selection of preset images. To try out this feature, head to the ( … ) menu and choose a background image from the list. The selected background will persist across meetings.

Microsoft is also adding the ability to record meetings directly from Microsoft Teams Rooms devices. This should make it easier for users to catch up on important announcements after a meeting. In addition, the company has introduced a new whiteboard integration that enables users to start a whiteboarding session directly from their Teams devices. Currently, the recording option and whiteboard integration are only available for personal accounts, with support for the Shared account coming soon.

Next up is a new Calendar experience on the Home Screen, which makes it easier for users to keep track of their current and future meetings. Moreover, Microsoft has slightly changed the position of all the familiar controls (including Meet Now, Dial pad, and more), and users will now s them besides the calendar.

Finally, the touch console experience is getting some improvements. The new experience brings the ability to switch between gallery views and provides access to useful features like pinning live captions. The firm is advising users to contact their device manufacturers to check if the updated touch console experience is supported on their devices. If you’re interested to learn more on Teams Rooms devices, you can check out a list of various devices on Microsoft’s website.

Back at CES 2021, Dell announced the Dell 27 Video Conferencing Monitor. If you missed it, this monitor was unlike any other in the company’s lineup. It was dubbed as the first 27-inch QHD video conferencing monitor certified for Microsoft Teams. You could simply tap the Teams button on the monitor, and pull up your chats and call, instantly.

The initial reveal happened in the middle of a pandemic, but the world hasn’t changed much since then, even with vaccines currently rolling out. Many people are still working from home, schooling from home, or depending on video calls in hybrid environments to keep in touch with family, friends, and coworkers. It’s become the new normal and the way to stay safe.

All that said, video conferencing is still important in our current times, as is having a monitor on your desk can expand your productivity, too.

That’s where the Dell 27 Video conferencing monitor comes into the picture. Dell was kind enough to send OnMSFT one for review. After spending a good two weeks with it, we’re certain it is a do-it-all monitor for work from home, and beyond.

Design

Like most modern Dell monitors, the Dell 27 Video Conferencing Monitor (which has a 2560 x 1440 resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate) sports a sleek design that fits in well with any desk or setup. I say this because the minute I took the display out of the box and set it up for our pictures, it felt quite welcoming.

The trapezoid base is minimalistic, and the sleek (fairly thin) monitor arm snaps in easily into the back of the display during setup without any tools. There’s also a hole in the bottom of the arm so you can manage and direct your cables, too.

Note that the arm even lets you swivel the monitor left and right (from 45 degrees in each direction) or up and down-facing (5 to 21 degrees in each direction) without having to move the base itself. You can pull the arm up and down to adjust the monitor to your setup as well (up to 120 mm,) and even pivot the entire display so that it’s vertical, rather than horizontal.

Then there are the slim bezels. These are barely noticeable on the sides, appearing just as a thin black strip. Other than the fabric speaker grills, it is one of the first things I noticed after powering the monitor on. The monitor definitely has that XPS 13 look, with three-sided narrow borders (except for its bottom chin, that is.)

Ports & buttons

But what about the ports? Much like the design, this monitor’s ports do not disappoint. There is a port for everything you need and in almost every corner, too. It is one of the keys to making the monitor a do-it-all hub for work from home and beyond.

Starting on the back of the monitor, you’ll find a security lock and the power connector. There’s then an HDMI 1.4 port, DisplayPort in (with an audio jack above it,) USB-C upstream, DisplayPort out, a USB-B upstream port, a Superspeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, another Superspeed USB 3.2 port, and an RJ45 connector.

There are two important notes here. First off, DisplayPort out can be used to daisy chain the monitor to another display if you want. The other note comes in relation to the USB-C port. It carries 90 watts of power and can charge some devices (like a Surface Pro or Go) that are attached via this cable, even when the monitor is off. The USB-C port can also be paired up with the RJ45 jack, too, so you can eliminate the need for hubs or dongles. This is what I ended up doing with my Surface Go 2.

The monitor became the “hub” for my main devices, thanks to its plethora of ports, especially on the front-end. That’s where, under the chin of the monitor, you’ll find Superspeed USB, a headphone jack, as well as a USB-C downstream port.

I loved these extra ports on the front, as they proved useful for plugging in a mouse and also charging my phone when using the monitor with my Surface via USB-C. Again, another reason why the monitor functions as a hub for me. It cut out the need for my usual dongle.

This is especially important when working from home, too. No one has the time to go looking for dongles for use with a laptop or monitor in the middle of meetings.

Then there are the buttons. The power and control buttons are tucked away at the bottom right corner of the monitor, right behind the LED indicator light. I like the location, as it makes it obvious where to touch to get access to the controls, especially late at night or early in the morning when lighting is poor.

The navigation button, meanwhile, is a joystick. I enjoyed this because it makes menus easy to navigate and switching between different inputs easy, without having to press multiple buttons. Note that the monitor has KVM support, too, as we’ll get into later on. This lets you connect two PC sources to the monitor and switch between them with a single keyboard and mouse.

Microsoft Teams functionality

The real highlight of this monitor is the Microsoft Teams functionality. As I hinted, the monitor is one of the only certified for Microsoft Teams. That’s because of the Teams touch buttons built into the lower-left corner of the display, as well as the 5MP webcam which we’ll get into the next section. There’s a couple of ways these buttons come into play in the day-to-day use of the monitor for myself.

The first way is being able to open Teams really easily. During my workday, Teams often will get sent to the background a lot, when I am working on articles, or browsing through web pages. When a notification comes in, instead of searching for the Teams window, I just pressed the Teams button on the monitor. It instantly pulls Teams up and to my attention. The button even flashes when I have a notification, too.

A second way the Teams functionality comes into play is with the volume controls. During calls, you’d usually need to manually adjust the volume using Windows’ sliders or controls. With this monitor, you can easily control call volume without using your computer itself, even when connected via headphones on that headphone jack.

Just set your finger on the touch controls on the front, and you’re good to go. The same goes for the microphone mute switch, too, which lets you mute your mic quickly on the fly. Just be aware, for the Teams controls to work, you’ll need to be plugged into USB-C, or have your PC connected to the display’s USB-B upstream port when using Displayport or HDMI. In our testing, without that USB-C or USB-B connection to your PC, the buttons will do nothing other than standard volume control.

Webcam quality & sound quality

Other than the Teams buttons, the other big part of this Dell 27 Video Conferencing Monitor is the pop-up webcam. This webcam functions with the display via USB-C with a single cable, or when you plug the display into your PC via the HDMI or DisplayPort paired with the USB-B upstream port. You can push it into and out of the top of the monitor when you do and don’t need it.

In technical specs, it’s a 5-megapixel wide-angle webcam, with IR and Windows Hello built-in for passwordless sign-in to your PC. Dell says you get 30 frames per second and 178 degrees of view from the video feed. As a 5 megapixel camera, you’ll get more than twice the details and zoom of traditional webcams that you find on laptops and tablets.

I tested the webcam in a Teams call, and though Teams had issues connecting to it on our main Surface Go 2 PC (it worked fine on a secondary PC,) the quality was definitely there. The person on the other end of the call could make out blemishes in my faces, as well as the colors of the brown leather sofa, and other details in the room around me thanks to the wide-angle lens. It’s hard to find a webcam of this high quality on a monitor, and I can see this monitor being useful for conference rooms for this reason. The webcam is definitely razer-sharp, as Dell puts it.

Now, for the speakers and audio. Dell includes dual 5W integrated speakers onboard the monitor, as well as a noise-canceling microphone. During calls, the speakers definitely amplified the sound of the person on the other end of the call. On a test Teams call, my friend’s voices were crisp and clear, so much so I even heard the click-clack of her partner typing on the keyboard (he was sitting in the room adjacent to her.)

The microphones, meanwhile, were able to mute out the music coming from outdoors, when I hopped on a Teams for Personal call with another friend. But don’t let that limit you to just Teams and video calls. Dell says you can use these microphones with Cortana, too, to improve your productivity as, well as other assistants like Amazon Alexa via the desktop app.

Display quality

I want to end this review by mentioning the display quality. The contrast ratio on the LED panel gets up to 1000: 1, and the color support hits up to 16.78 million. The panel also has an anti-glare coating, an 8ms normal response time, and a 5ms ray to gray fast response time.

The aspect ratio comes in at 16:9. According to our colorimeter, it also covered 99% of the Adobe sRGB spectrum and showed about 250 cd/m2 of brightness. Note that the resolution caps out 2560 x 1440, and the refresh rate at 60 Hz. For higher resolutions, you’ll have to check out the Dell 34 Curved WQHD monitor, which is the larger version of this smaller sibling.

Naturally, this all means the monitor is technically intended solely for productivity and not for gaming. I was able to stack windows side by side and multitask on this monitor. Images appeared crisp and bright, especially when it comes to web pages and black-on-white text. I really enjoyed writing articles and getting work done.

Videos, meanwhile, played nicely. I watched an episode of Spongebob Squarepants on this monitor, and the yellow in Spongebob’s skin and the blue in the sky were quite lively. Though catered for productivity, I also did hook up the monitor to my Google Chromecast Ultra and played Watch Dogs Legion. The visual experience was quite pleasing, especially with the integrated speakers. It felt like I was playing on my dedicated TV.

Day two and I just found out that this is also a pretty good monitor for Google Stadia too. Playing Watch Dogs Legion via the Chrome Cast Ultra and it's pretty ????????. Vibrant colors! The built in speakers also make it like a TV. Impressive stuff for a conference monitor. pic.twitter.com/qOERJrL6k7

— Arif Bacchus (@abacjourn) March 31, 2021

I can see this monitor being used as a TV, when not in the office or home if need be. There are different presets in the settings to choose from accordingly that can work for this. You can either pick Movie, Game, Warm, Cool, or choose your own custom color. Sharpness Aspect Ratio, Contrast, brightness, and other settings can be changed via the menu, too. Dell is always great with this stuff.

Extra features

I mentioned multitasking multiple times throughout my review, but Dell does take things a bit further with this monitor. You can actually connect two PCs to the monitor and display the content at the same time with picture-by-picture support.

You can also use the KVM (keyboard – video – mouse) functionality to edit content from two different PCs. Not to forget, Dell also has the Dell Easy Arrange feature, too, which can organize multiple applications into up to 38 preset templates and 5 customizable layouts with a single PC.

This picture in picture support and KVM is done through Dell Display Manager and set up through a wizard. It’s quite cool to play with, especially if you own multiple PCs like me. You can plug two PCs into one, and enjoy both at the same time!

Worth the money

If you’re in need of a monitor for your home setup, then it’s hard to not suggest the Dell 27 Video Conferencing Monitor. The ease of use with Microsoft Teams, built-in high-quality webcam, sleek design, speakers, and noise-canceling microphones make it a monitor that you don’t want to pass on for work or school. Not to mention, USB-C compatibility and all the other software you can install on your PC to expand out the monitor’s use is great. You can buy it now via Dell for $719.