While I tend to agree with the author that there are far too many "certified/designed for" logos that are meaningless, I have always purchased devices that are certified/designed for Teams/Skype for Business/Lync/OCS R2/OCS/LCS[0].

Back in the OCS/OCS R2 days (2008ish) the market was still pretty impressed with Bluetooth Headsets[1] (and people walking around like they're talking to nobody). Many "computer headsets" were extremely low-end mono-headphones/mic combos with physical mute switches (that often didn't "fully mute"). The sound quality was on-par with a terrible analog POTS call.

Our company made the choice to ditch all IP (Cisco at the time) phones and legacy PBX equipment and replace "everything that was practical to do so with" with computer attached OCS R2 certified headsets.

Here's what you (often) get with certified vs non-certified:

- Assuming the device has a mute/unmute switch/indicator, it will match the mute/unmute state in the client. This was (probably still is, but my devices are certified) a huge problem. Non-certified devices still muted but other participants wouldn't see the mute icon. What's worse than waiting for someone to "unmute"? When they think they're unmuted but their second mute button is muted! My Jabra Speak 410 shows the mute state on the device, it matches what's in the OS and it matches what the client sees/reports. My old Polycom (similar) did the same and short of having to be oriented in a certain manner for Echo cancellation to work properly, it was a similarly trouble-free experience.

- It will always[2] pick the right device for the call and the ringer. If the certified device is attached when you join a call, it will pick that device. If the OS has something different setup for when you're playing games, it still picks right.

- The sound quality exceeds what the client is capable of delivering. I'm using a USB wired "speakerphone" device that I picked up for $150 in late 2012. Nobody can tell I don't have a headset unless I'm on video; it has always cancelled noise/echo and works brilliantly with "just me" or in a small conference room with several participants[3].

- Other features tie into the client correctly. If it's got a "call answer" or "hangup" button, it can be used to join or hang up a conference. Volume indicators match what the OS/Teams indicates.

Can I find a headset, today, which isn't Teams certified that does all that in Windows 11? Probably. I've heard that the microphone tracking the OS does now makes the mute/unmute situation a bit better. BT Headsets and their support in Windows has improved enough that if I've got my high-end Bluetooth headphones connected, I'll use them. But for the last decade, picking a "certified" device (Teams/Lync/etc only -- I can't speak to the others) meant a completely grief-free experience. Aside from "no drivers/no setup/It Just Works(tm)", the headsets are all "at least mid-to-high-end"

[0] I think that covers the naming back to 2005?

[1] I remember my BlueAnt Z9

[2] Yeah, there's no such thing, but it's always worked for me across several devices.

[3] So well, in fact, that when we merged with a competitor and they opted to implement Lync (at the time), they stuck (and later secured) one of these in every conference room instead of purchasing much more expensive devices (opting, instead, to outfit some of the better rooms with very high-end solutions).