Microsoft Teams Rooms gives organizations the flexibility to create high-quality collaboration experiences across meeting spaces of every kind and size. Often we hear from customers, “which device or which platform should I choose?” The way we think about it is simple: we believe that customers should be empowered to expect high-quality collaboration experiences in any physical space, regardless of what platform they prefer, or the devices they install. We designed the Teams Rooms ecosystem with flexibility and optionality in mind, and those principles still guide us today. With Certified for Teams devices from more than 30 manufacturers, customers have options across a broad ecosystem spanning Windows and Android to select the platform, form factor, and hardware that best fit each space. That range is possible because Teams Rooms embraces a mixed‑platform strategy. Whether you choose Windows or Android, Teams Rooms delivers a high‑quality, feature‑rich experience for joining Teams meetings, with native manageability that keeps devices current. Both platforms are here for the long term, here’s how to think about the choice, and if you choose Android, here’s exactly what the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) means for you.
Flexibility and choice at the core
Our guiding principle for Teams Rooms is flexibility and choice: giving you high‑quality devices and experiences, while letting you pick the platform that best fits your organization and each space. Both platforms share the same foundation: a great in‑meeting experience and cloud‑based manageability. The right answer for platform choice depends on your priorities, not on one platform being superior.
Teams Rooms on Windows
Some Teams Rooms features and functionality are introduced on Windows before becoming available on Android. That’s because the overall Teams development cycle begins with the Teams Windows desktop app, which makes it faster to deliver new capabilities to Teams Rooms on Windows.
Always‑in‑sync updates. Because Windows is a Microsoft platform, we update the operating system and the Teams Rooms app together automatically.
USB plug‑and‑play flexibility. Windows lets you mix and match certified peripherals with your chosen compute. A single compute device can support Teams Rooms from one person to 500+ with different cameras, microphones, and speakers, matched to the space.
Built for large and evolving spaces. That modularity makes complex rooms easier and supports in‑place upgrades. When you want the latest camera but aren’t ready to replace the whole system, you can disconnect the existing camera and bring in a new one, even from a different manufacturer, without replacing the full room.
Teams Rooms on Android
Teams Rooms on Android starts from our Android mobile application and adds meeting room specific features and experiences, the lightweight Android operating system brings some advantages as well.
Faster installation. Teams Rooms on Android devices are most often all‑in‑one bar form factors, which can make physical installation quicker.
A standardized, single‑vendor path. Android devices are typically supported end‑to‑end by a single manufacturer, which helps organizations standardize their hardware selection process.
Manufacturer‑managed platform. OEMs create their own OS and firmware updates and peripherals are typically closed and appliance‑like.
Where MDEP fits in — if you choose Android
We’re continuing to invest in Teams Rooms on Android, and we’re collaborating with the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) team to bring more of the manageability and security available on Windows to Android devices. All new Android devices achieving the Certified for Teams designation will include MDEP as a standard.
What is MDEP? MDEP is an enterprise‑grade software platform from Microsoft, built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It’s designed to meet high standards of security, reliability, ease of deployment, and innovation, giving enterprises and device makers a consistent, customer‑ready foundation for building and deploying devices at scale.
What the collaboration brings to Teams Rooms on Android. Working with MDEP, we’re expanding Microsoft manageability capabilities already available on Teams Rooms on Windows to Teams Rooms on Android, including:
- Hardware attestation
- Secure pairing
- Zero‑touch deployment
- Expanded security controls
- Remote manageability
Importantly, the underlying operating‑system configuration, peripheral support, management, lifespan, and supportability processes remain with the device manufacturer, who can now bring Microsoft’s enterprise software, security, and cloud services directly into the platform. In short, MDEP enables manufacturers to build devices that take full advantage of Microsoft’s intelligent services, cloud‑connected experiences, and modern management capabilities. This doesn’t impact existing Android devices Certified for Teams, though, they will continue to receive Teams updates until their end‑of‑certification and support dates.
One place to manage it all
Whichever platform you choose, all Teams devices (Teams Rooms on Windows, Teams Rooms on Android, Teams panels, and Teams phones) are now managed within the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal (PMP). PMP is now the primary destination for inventory, health monitoring, management, and analytics across both Windows and Android, reflecting our long‑term commitment to both platforms, so you can pick a future‑ready platform on the operating system you prefer.
Get started
Both platforms are here for the long term — so you can choose the operating system you prefer and know it’s future‑ready. As you plan:
- Track what’s coming. Check the Microsoft 365 Roadmap and the recurring What’s New in Teams blog, where we designate feature availability across Windows and Android.
- Go deeper on MDEP. Review the MDEP documentation to learn more about the benefits and features in the MDEP Platform Overview