TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsMicrosoft overhauls Skype to compete with Snapchat and iMessage
The photo-sharing view looks similar to Snapchat and allows users to draw over their pictures and share them into a Snapchat Stories-like panel called Highlights.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
The new Skype will be gradually released, starting out in Android devices. (Shutterstock/File)
M
icrosoft Corp.’s Skype helped pioneer modern video conferencing and instant messaging. But its power has taken a backseat in recent years to the convenience of communicating via nearly ubiquitous social networking applications like Snap Inc.’s Snapchat and Apple Inc.’s iMessage.
To stay afloat, Skype announced an end-to-end overhaul of the service Thursday -- with iMessage and Snapchat in its sights. The new app has Skype’s standard instant messaging service, international dialing, and multiperson video calling, but it adds integration with third-party services like YouTube, simpler photo sharing, and revamped group chatting with an interface similar to Skype-owned GroupMe.
Read also: Google Hangouts now competes with Slack, Skype
Within chats, users can integrate weather or image apps with previews similar to the latest version of iMessage on iPhones. (Skype via Bloomberg/File)
The photo-sharing view looks similar to Snapchat and allows users to draw over their pictures and share them into a Snapchat Stories-like panel called Highlights. Within chats, users can integrate weather or image apps with previews similar to the latest version of iMessage on iPhones. For the new Skype, Microsoft is rolling out chat bots, including one called Scoop, that can inject breaking news headlines into conversations.
The new Skype will be gradually released, starting out in Android devices. A new version for the iPhone will be released in about a month, Skype said. Versions for the Mac, Windows PCs, and tablets will come later.
