Microsoft Is Bringing a Plethora of Changes to Skype, Including New Themes, Features

Skype is a popular application that is not a stranger to changes to its design since Microsoft seems to keep trying to change things up with the service.

Now, Microsoft is preparing to tweak Skype again, as the software maker has started teasing plans for a new Skype, one that comes with improvements, is faster, reliable, and super modern-looking.

This comes as Microsoft says that it has been listening to feedback, with plans to roll out changes to modernise Skype in the coming few months.

Why is Microsoft Tweaking Skype?

The key part of Skype, which as per Microsoft is the call stage is to get attention. The grid displayed during calls will soon add everyone on the call, even if their video is off, putting all participants side by side.

To add to this, Microsoft is also bringing in new themes and layouts, to offer some customization options to the main calling UI. Users will get to choose between large gallery, Together mode, grid view and speaker view, as well as a content view.

The new colourful themes are coming soon, with button gradients, side panel improvements on the mobile version and refreshed icons. Skype users will also get colourful gradients given they do not have an avatar to set chats apart. This is not just all, since Microsoft admits that “While we love the design changes, we knew they weren’t enough,”

“We needed to focus on performance to make the experience delightful.” Microsoft further claims that it is improving performance on the Android version of the service by approximately 2,000% in “key scenarios” and around 30% on the desktop version.

What Else is New?

Microsoft adds that it intends to support all browsers in the future. The Skype team says that  “We believe the Skype experience should be seamless, accessible, and reliable no matter what browser or device you are using, so we are adding support for all browsers,”

“We would like to make sure that no matter which device, platform, or browser you’re using, Skype will always give you a great experience.”

A few of these improvements are now available, while others are coming soon. Custom sound notifications are rolling out as of the time of writing this article, whilst a TwinCam feature allowing users to add your phone camera during a call is coming soon.