SWNG features will be integrated into Skype

Nov 7, 2017 10:14 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has just announced that it purchased Swing Technology, the company behind iOS and Android app SWNG enabling live photos on mobile devices.

The software giant says that both the technology and the employees currently working at Swing will all switch to Microsoft’s Skype team, which means that features currently available in the mobile app could soon become available as part of the Skype messaging and calling app.

“The Swing team’s deep expertise in imaging technology will help us deliver great new features and capabilities for Skype,” said Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Skype, Amritansh Raghav.

“They have an impressive track record of delivering great user experiences and brand design around the technology they develop. I welcome the new team members and am excited about how Swing will deliver innovation to our customers.”

Microsoft doing shopping on Apple’s playground

Even though moving photos are something already part of mobile devices by default, SWNG comes with a series of exclusive features, including filters, support for 3D selfies, easy file sharing and access to a collection of live photos uploaded by other users.

Furthermore, SWNG comes with iMessage integration on the iPhone, so users can easily send moving photos to contacts with the extension.

Microsoft has made it a hobby to purchase popular iOS and Android apps and integrate their features into its own products. The company took over Accompli, the maker of the popular email client that used the same name, and then rebranded it to Outlook, as well as SwiftKey, which was and continues to be one of the top keyboard apps on mobile devices.

SWNG, however, is not even close to being as popular as Microsoft’s previous purchases and right now, the app has a rating of just 3 stars out of a maximum of 5 in the Apple Store. There are several one-star reviews for the latest versions and users criticize the most recent updates for being particularly glitchy.