14 DAY TRIAL // Skype is now playing a much more important role in Microsoft's future plans, so the VoIP platform will soon receive a new round of improvements supposed to bring it in line with other company products.
The Skype team shared some of the enhancements it's now working on in a new, long blog post, revealing that Microsoft wants to provide users with increased performance and quality.
Basically, the future of Skype is split into three different sections, each of them supposed to contribute to the final experience offered to consumers.
First, improved performance and quality are both expected to be part of future Skype releases.
“This is our number one priority and a key component of every update we roll out. Earlier this year, we started making some significant changes under the hood to the way in which our apps work, specifically around reliability, battery life and performance,” the team wrote.
Then, there's the Modern design that Microsoft has talked about so much since the Windows 8 launch. The software maker wants to put the focus on conversations, so expect some important UI improvements in the next Skype versions.
“Our aim is to make the experience and design of our apps as consistent as possible, while still respecting each device’s unique look and feel,” it added.
Last but not least, Microsoft is trying to offer the same feature package on all Windows devices on the market, be they tablets, smartphones, desktop computers, or laptops.
“We want everyone to have the same great Skype experience regardless of the device they choose. We have some work to do in this area, but you’ll increasingly see a more consistent feature set across all our apps by the end of the year.”
Skype is also expected to become the key messaging app in the Windows operating system, after the Softies officially retired Windows Live Messenger earlier this year. Windows 8.1 RTM is said to ship with Skype pre-installed, as the built-in Messaging app has also been removed from the OS.