Windows 8.1 is set for general availability on October 18th. With Windows 8.1, Microsoft will be replacing the Messaging app for the Skype app, which comes with a ton of new features and messaging capabilities. In a new blog post today, Skype’s Director of Program Management, Noah Edelstein, goes over a few of Skype’s new features as Microsoft celebrates the two year anniversary of acquiring Skype.
“When Skype for Windows 8 launched, we took a fresh approach to our UI and debuted the new Modern look of Skype. Working closely with the Windows team, our focus was to collectively design a great experience for the new, reimagined platform. Now, with Windows 8.1, we’re continuing to invest in optimizing and simplifying the experience so you can do more at once, which has always been a cornerstone of Windows,” Edelstein stated in an official Microsoft blog post.
On Windows 8.1, you can answer an incoming Skype call from your lock screen, launch apps alongside the Skype app in Snapped mode, and scale the app to the size of your device. In essence, you can do a lot more at once. Microsoft even introduced a new toast model for VoIP applications that allows users to answer Skype calls using video, answer with voice only, or ignore the call completely.
“We’ve been working hard on Skype for Windows 8.1. I am proud of what we produced so far and excited about the future development possibilities. It’s a pretty cool app, and I think I speak for the entire engineering team when I say, we can’t wait for you to get your hands on it,” Edelstein adds.
Further reading: Microsoft, Windows 8.1
