14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently announced that Skype now works without any other plugin in Edge (the default browser in Windows 10) thanks to the built-in ORTC media engine embedded into the app.
In other words, starting today, you can use Skype for Web, Outlook.com, Office Online, and OneDrive with Microsoft Edge without the need to download and install anything, so you just have to enter your credentials, and you’re ready to go. Voice and group video calling options are supported.
“All Skype one-to-one and group voice and video calls to and from Microsoft Edge browsers are plugin free. All Skype one-to-one calls from Microsoft Edge to the latest versions of Skype for Windows and Skype for Mac are plug in free” Microsoft explains.
It’s not just Microsoft Edge
And this isn’t the only good news for Skype users. While today’s announcement is specifically targeted at Microsoft Edge, the Redmond-based tech giant says that more browsers will be supported soon, including Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
What this means is that Skype will soon work on non-Windows platforms too with a supported browser. It’s a well-known thing that Skype for Linux is pretty much outdated, and there have been several complaints from Linux users in the last few months, so this update will give them a chance to continue using the VoIP platform and all the latest features.
“Today’s launch is exciting news and is the first step towards fulfilling the commitment we’ve made to support WebRTC in Skype and Skype for Business. But we want to bring seamless calling to everyone, not just people using Microsoft Edge. To make this a reality, we will continue to work on enabling audio and video interoperability with Chrome and Firefox browsers, once they both support the H.264 video codec,” Microsoft announces.
At this point, there’s no info on when exactly plugin-free support for Skype could arrive in Chrome and Firefox, but at least we know it’s coming.