For some time now, Microsoft’s Skype app has been steadily evolving on Android and while it took them some time to roll out big features such as Material Design the app is arguably one of the more fully-featured video-calling and chat apps out there. Of course, now there’s a lot more competition out there with WhatsApp offering voice calling and video-calling said to be just around the corner. Nevertheless, Microsoft isn’t giving up on Skype, and the team has just announced a new update for Android with version 7.0 which brings with it some much-needed improvements to the UI, especially on tablets, as well as better search features and an easier way to invite friends to the service.
The biggest feature in this latest update is the new tablet interface (shown above) which brings key Material Design components to the table such as the Floating Action Button and also brings a multi-pane interface along with it. This will allow Skype users to keep one chat open at the same time as they scroll through other chats on the left-hand side. It’s nothing revolutionary of course, but it’s something that’s worth having and at least Skype appears to be one of the few apps still working on table versions these days. Skype has also introduced their universal search to the tablet side of things in version 7.0 as well, which the team say will make it much easier to find chats, pictures, contacts and a whole lot more.
A more important update and perhaps one that will be viewed as an aggressive move against the likes of WhatsApp and such is easier invites for your contacts. When users log in to Skype now, they will see their entire contacts list, and it’s a lot easier to invite these contacts to Skype. This might seem like a small update to some, but this is perhaps one of the best indications that Skype is desperate to get more users on to the network. For those wanting to get more out of Skype, the tablet version updates should be hitting devices right now, and if you want to quickly see if it’s ready for you, or install the app for the first time, the below button will do the trick.