Microsoft Releases Skype Previews For Windows 10 Mobile

Microsoft has released beta versions of Skype messaging and video applications for Windows 10 Mobile preview users.

It is unclear whether the apps have been made available deliberately, but their release offers users a sneak peak as to what Microsoft has planned for the Skype universal app, which is intended to become the default communication tool for Windows 10.

Skype previews

The messaging app allows users to send both SMS and Skype messages, while it can also initiate voice calls from a smartphone’s dialler. This integration allows users to switch between over the top (OTT) and cellular communications seamlessly. Separately, the video beta offers video calls between Skype users, similar to the Facetime application on iOS.

Microsoft has already shut down the ‘modern’ version of Skype introduced with Windows 8 – except on Windows RT which cannot run legacy applications like Skype for desktop – but no release date for the Skype universal app has yet been given.

A browser-based version of Skype is now available for PC users in the UK and US for mobile users who want to view messages and make calls on a bigger screen without installing an application.

Windows 10 already has five percent of the PC market after launching at the end of July, more than Mac OS X, but less than Windows 7 and XP. The latest version of Microsoft’s operating system is used by more than 75 million systems as the company seeks to get the platform on more than one billion PCs, smartphones, tablets and other connected devices.

What do you know about Windows 10? Try our quiz!