To catch up with solutions like Teams or Zoom, Skype will benefit from a modernized interface and new practical functions, with a tab dedicated to news and real-time audio translation.
For years, Skype has been the go-to app for online video calls. But, little by little, it lost its appeal in favor of other platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, especially with the explosion of teleworking. Microsoft itself has abandoned it in favor of Teams, which is much more professional. It was time to give it a facelift with a new update for the mobile version which brings a lot of new features and a redesigned interface. On the program: a customizable interface, better ergonomics, animated emoticons, better performance and bug fixes for “a very familiar and at the same time fresh and modern new experience”as the company promises in a long statement.
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Skype: a personalized interface
First, the Skype interface has the right to a more modern and customizable look, with the arrival of new themes and illustrations, and animated emojis. In particular, they “greet” the user when he arrives. Colors are more visible, whether for light or dark themes, with better contrasts for better accessibility. Themes now include colorful headers and message bubbles in chats.
The call interface also has the right to some improvements, drawing inspiration from that of the web and PC software versions. Video calls can now accommodate a total of 100 participants, and those not using their camera now enjoy the bright theme as well as lovely backgrounds. Users are also entitled to technical improvements to make calls more stable and perform better. Further improvements are expected on this point in the near future.
Skype: an application to follow the news
This is the great novelty – and also surprise – of this update: the appearance of a tab, soberly titled “Today”, devoted to current events. He proposes “seamlessly personalized articles and news from trusted sources around the world”, a bit like Google News, without the need for a subscription. Of course, the flow is personalized. It is also possible to share them in one touch with your contacts directly from Skype, by SMS and other application. It will also be easier to share your profile thanks to a QR code, which you can simply scan or send by e-mail or message.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also making its way into the app with a new real-time call translation system. Microsoft promises that “you can have a conversation with a person who speaks another language and the translation will happen automatically, in real time, during the conversation.” This will allow people speaking different languages to communicate more easily, whether during a meeting with collaborators or simply a friend across borders! To automatically detect the languages spoken during a video call and translate them in real time, AI combines voice recognition technology and natural language processing to understand and interpret spoken words and translate them into the desired language . Only a few languages are available at the moment including English, Spanish, French, German and Chinese.
