Microsoft launched a preview build of Skype for Business for Mac users on Tuesday. The company has started issuing invites to IT administrators to download the client and you could also request for the same at www.SkypePreview.com. The Redmond giant is planning to expand the preview to everyone in the coming weeks.
The preview, Microsoft says, will be released in three overall stages. Here’s how the company describes each state:
Preview phase one—Once you sign in, you’ll see your meetings for today and tomorrow, based on your Outlook calendar, displayed in the Skype for Business client.
Join any meeting with just one click and enjoy full screen video, content viewing, in-meeting chat and the ability to invite others to the meeting.
Preview phase two—We’ll be adding instant messaging, presence and contacts in the next preview release coming in early summer. You can continue to use Lync for Mac 2011 side-by-side with Skype for Mac Preview, giving you continued access to messaging and voice features.
Preview phase three—We will add telephony and related features later in the summer.
So, according to the tech giant, the build released today is very basic and doesn’t have many functionalities, although these will start rolling out in future builds.
The service was first released for enterprise clients last year, starting with an app for Windows in April. This was followed by a Windows Phone app in July and Android and iOS mobile apps in August 2015.
Using the new app, you can provide the company with feedback and suggestions by using the in-app service or via Skype for Business Mac Preview feedback. The company has not yet revealed a release date for the final build of the software, but it points out that the probably release date lies in Q3, 2016.
