14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that it’s discontinuing Skype Qik, a video service that was specifically created in 2014 in order to allow users to share their favorite clips with friends online.
Qik will thus go dark on March 24 this year, and Microsoft says that the main reason for pulling the plug on the service is that the company has already introduced Skype Group Video call support in the main Skype client available on both desktops and mobile devices.
Skype Group Video calls for the win
And yet, it’s important to note that Skype Group Video calls are not yet available on Windows 10 Mobile, which once again raises questions as to what platforms the company is more actively working on.
“We’ve enabled video messaging in Skype and fun features such as filters, to make your messages even more personal. To send a video message in Skype today, simply look for the video message icon in the media bar,” Microsoft says in an announcement today.
“Due to these updates, the last day Skype Qik will be available for use will be March 24th, 2016. Please make sure to save any special messages you may want to keep before March 24th. After this date, you will no longer be able to send or receive messages.”
Without a doubt, Skype Qik proved to be more of a failed experiment because it was very clear from the very beginning that nobody needed a different application for video sharing since the company had already had the main Skype client available on all platforms.
Skype has become an essential application for Microsoft, and not only is it available as a stand-alone application for all non-Windows users but it’s also deeply integrated into Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile as part of the Messaging app, thus allowing you to chat with friends and contacts without the need to install the client.