Microsoft released Windows 10 Mobile build 14327 for Insiders on the Fast ring yesterday, and the major new feature is “Messaging everywhere” which allow users to send and receive text messages from their phone directly from their Windows 10 PCs. While this feature may be welcomed by many Windows 10 users, Microsoft also warned that it removed the Skype integration in the Messaging app in the latest Insider builds on both PC and mobile. Microsoft explained that “This is so Skype can streamline your experience, replacing the integration with the Skype UWP Preview app for mobile in an upcoming build. In the meantime, you can use the existing Skype for Windows Phone app available in the Windows Store.”
The Skype UWP Preview app has been available for Windows Insiders using the preview build 14316 on Windows 10 PCs, but the Skype team shared additional details about the upcoming availability of the UWP Skype app on Windows 10 Mobile yesterday (via Neowin):
Soon, we’ll be releasing the Skype UWP Preview app to your mobile devices. The mobile release of the Skype UWP Preview app will bring you features you’ve asked for—like group calling and more—while leveraging the benefits of the Skype integration into Windows 10 you previously experienced, like a single view of your SMS and Skype conversations. This way you get the best Skype experience possible and you can take it across your Windows devices.
While this app seems promising, there is still a level of ambiguity surrounding the app features: the Skype team explains that the UWP Skype app will display “a single view of your SMS and Skype conversations”, and we’re not sure if that sounds like a duplicate “Messaging everywhere” experience in the Skype UWP app or not. Would you like the UWP Skype app to be able to be used as a true universal messaging app on Windows 10 devices? Please tell us what you think in the comments.
