Skype has seen more revamps in the last five years than it should, yet Microsoft still seems to be willing to experiment with new features. The software company teases plans for a “improved, faster, more dependable, and incredibly modern-looking Skype.” The Company stated it has been paying attention to reviews and will eventually push out updates to improve Skype in the next few months.
The most significant aspect of Skype, referred to by Microsoft as the call stage, is receiving the most attention. The grid that appears during calls will eventually include everyone on the call, regardless if they have allowed video or not. This displays all participants, including your own video, side by side on the main interface. That in itself places all participants beside each other in the main interface, including your own video.
Microsoft is also introducing additional themes and layouts to this view, providing much-needed personalisation to Skype’s main calling interface. You will be allowed to choose between speaker view, grid view, huge gallery, Together Mode, and even a content view, as well as the ability to just see those who have video enabled.
The new bright theme on Skype, including button gradients, an upgraded side panel on mobile, and Fluent Design symbols throughout the apps, will be released soon. Skype users who do not have avatars will also see brightly coloured gradients to help them distinguish between chats.
However, it is not all about design new changes. “While we enjoy the design modifications, we knew they weren’t enough,” the Skype team says in a blog article describing the upgrades. “To make the experience pleasurable, we needed to focus on performance.” Microsoft claims to have increased performance on the Android version of Skype by over 2000% in “key scenarios” and by 30% on desktop versions.
Microsoft has also stated that upcoming Skype updates will support all browsers. “We think that the Skype experience should be seamless, accessible, and dependable regardless of the browser or device you are using, so we are introducing support for all browsers,” the Skype team adds.
A few of these changes are already in place, while others will be introduced in the months ahead. Custom notification noises are among the immediate new capabilities, while a new TwinCam function that allows you to add your phone camera to a call appears to be arriving later.
Microsoft is undoubtedly working on a wide range of Skype updates. This is the most recent change of Skype since Microsoft began tinkering with things in 2014, followed by a Snapchat-like design in 2017, another redesign in 2018 that killed off the drastic Snapchat-like modifications, and several revisions to the desktop and mobile apps since then.
