Microsoft-owned Skype is probably one of the most widely popular messaging services until date. But, if you ask me, the platform had started to look a bit dated even though the Redmond giant was regularly adding new features. It will, however, be a thing of the past since Skype is today getting a surprising makeover — really very surprising — with inspiration for features drawn from its arch-enemies such as Snapchat, Messenger, and even Slack.
Speaking about the update, the official blog post reads:
Rebuilt from the ground up, the new Skype vastly improves the ways you can connect with your favorite people and, of course, chatting is front and center. Wherever life takes you, Skype allows you to seamlessly create, play, share, and do more with the people you care about most.
While Skype would definitely take (read: snatch) the crown for audio and video calling, the messaging service hasn’t been able to stand its ground against rivals like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Snapchat in the present ecosystem. The said bubble has surely grown at a tremendous pace, amassing millions and billions monthly users, but Skype has lagged behind in this space. This redesign now aims to bring the spotlight back on messaging — but also complementing the same with add-on hullaballoo this generation of today lives for. And this includes an emphasis on both personal, as well as group conversations.
The personal messaging window now not only includes a ‘chat’ section but also brings along two additional sections, namely capture and highlights — both of which place focus on the Snapchat-like features of the app. Yes, following the path adopted by Instagram (or every Facebook-owned app), Skype is now also debuting the Stories-like feature within its messaging platform. It has, however, been named Highlights and you can ‘capture’ it using the camera, which is now just one swipe away from the chat screen.
Highlights lets you create a highlight reel of your day with photos and videos, so you can share everyday moments.
Let’s take a dive into capture, which feels an awful lot similar to Snapchat, and then navigate into talking about Highlights. The Skype app is no longer focused on simplifying just your conversations but also wants you to be able to share every aspect of your daily life with your friends and family. Thus, swiping to the capture section immediately launches the camera interface and allows you to take photos or videos without any hassles.
Once you’ve recorded a highlight, let’s call it what it should be, then you’ll notice a Snapchat-esque photo editing screen and will be able to send the snaps highlights to any one of your contacts or within the group conversation. Now that you’ve posted the highlight, the person viewing the same will have the option to react to each image/video post with emoticons or simply by sending messages in the conversation.
The Group conversation, on the other hand, have also received a massive upgrade with the addition of a new ‘Find’ section in place of the Highlights section. Microsoft is well-aware of the fact that the said conversation are where friends and families not only talk but also discuss plans and other random thoughts fleeting through their mind. Thus, the Find panel will provide you instant access to add-ins and bots in one place to supplement your chat experience. You’ll now have the power to:
Pull ticket pricing and seating options directly into the chat with the StubHub bot. Discover the latest trends with the BigOven add-in and learn the many ways you can make that avocado toast. Chat with the Expedia bot to check flight times and pricing. And that’s just the start.
With the ability to connect to your favorite businesses and brands from within the app, the simplest conversations can pave the way to lasting memories.
Skype has decided also to adopt an indefinite and rather intriguing design choice with the said update. It is using squiggly lines to represent a lot of things in the interface, such as the time for which you’ve been holding down the camera button to record a video, audio calling, separators between highlights and more similar use cases. This update looks exciting and we cannot wait to try it out and see if it can be a replacement for some of the most habitual messaging services available today.
Microsoft claims that it has been working on this update for the last one year and will have to be called the single biggest change to the platform since its inception in 2003 — and even after its acquisition by Redmond back in 2006. The redesigned Skype platform is currently rolling out worldwide to all ‘Android’ users — giving the app a priority on mobile than desktop. An iPhone version of the app, along with Windows and Mac variants, is presently in the works and will be released in the coming weeks.
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