If it seemed more inclined to work on Teams, Microsoft does not forget Skype for all that with a major overhaul ... that we no longer expected.
Launched in August 2003, the instant messaging software has been owned by Microsoft since May 10, 2011, when the publisher announced the purchase for the hefty sum of 8.5 billion dollars. Surprisingly enough, this acquisition was not followed by a lot of work by the Microsoft teams. On the contrary, it is rather the Teams application that is on the rise at the American publisher, which seemed to abandon Skype. Five years ago, the company tried to redesign its software, but users' protests forced it to backtrack and, since then, it's been pretty quiet.
In fact, Microsoft has been more discreet, but has been quietly reviewing its copy. During the summer, for example, we were able to discover what it called " instant reactions ". Today, thanks to Neowin, we learn more about a more complete redesign of the application. A redesign that Microsoft details in a long blog post and that should " bring a breath of fresh air to all Skype users ". It's Microsoft who says it and we have no reason not to believe them :-)
According to the authors of the blog post, the redesign of Skype should make the user experience " more enjoyable and fun ". In fact, the interface is completely redesigned to be clearer, less dense, with new illustrations and new emoticons, while stability is improved and the whole thing is faster. However, Microsoft wants to emphasize an important point: the interface redesign must be done in respect of users' habits so that they " are not lost " when reconnecting after installing the update.
On mobile, the Skype interface will benefit from more colorful themes with new accessibility options. However, Microsoft emphasizes the customizable side of the whole and insists on the presence of iconic elements of Skype as these animated emoticons. In addition, this mobile version of Skype will finally benefit from additions integrated into the desktop version almost a year ago such as the ability to choose different themes for calls and for participants without video stream. In addition, Microsoft says it has worked on the quality of calls, especially video, so that the connection remains stable regardless of the number of users in communication. Remember that Skype officially supports up to 100 people per call.
More surprisingly, Microsoft confirmed the integration of a new feature related to the news and called " Today ". Not sure that this will delight Skype users, but the idea is to offer a new customizable tab that is obviously reminiscent of Google News: Skype collects news articles from " different trusted sources around the world. Microsoft emphasizes that the thing works without any subscription and that we can easily share content with our Skype contacts. It remains to be seen whether this will reduce the hemorrhaging of users that Skype has experienced in recent years.
