finally some real useful news!
To take on solutions like Teams or Zoom, Skype benefits from an update with a modernized interface, new practical features, a tab for news and real-time voice translation.
Every month, Microsoft releases new versions of Skype to add new features, make improvements and fixes to the messaging and video tool. These updates are usually first beta tested with Skype Insiders before being released. And that’s good! Because, if for years Skype has been the perfect application for online video calls, it has gradually lost its appeal in favor of other solutions such as Zoom and Google Meet, especially with the explosion of teleworking. . Microsoft itself seemed to abandon it in favor of the more professional Teams.
All these updates give it some facelift. Microsoft continues this month with version 8.93 of Skype, which it announced last December, bringing a slew of new features to PCs, smartphones and tablets. In the program: improvements, bug fixes and new features, including natural voice translation, which will be very practical for international calls. The update is rolling out gradually over the next few days, so don’t worry if it’s not available right away.
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Skype: customized interface and more stable calls
Skype version 8.93 brings many new features to the version on Windows, macOS and Linux, as well as Android and iOS. Thus, the Skype interface has the right to a more modern and customizable look with the arrival of new themes and illustrations and animated emojis – they especially “greet” the user as soon as he arrives. Colors are more visible for light or dark subjects with better contrasts for better accessibility. Themes include colorful titles and message bubbles in chats.
The call interface on the mobile phone is also entitled to some improvements, inspired by the web and PC software versions. Since then, video calls can accommodate a total of 100 participants, and those who don’t use their camera can now enjoy a glossy theme as well as beautiful backgrounds. Users are also entitled to technical improvements to make calls more stable and perform better.
Skype: software for watching news and audio translation in real time
This is one of the most interesting new features of the mobile update: the appearance of a soberly named “Today” tab dedicated to current events. Suggest “seamlessly personalized articles and news from trusted sources around the world”, a bit like Google News, without the need for a subscription. Of course, the flow is customized. It is possible to share them with your contacts directly from Skype, SMS and other applications with one touch. Sharing your profile is also easy thanks to the QR code, just scan it or send it via email or message.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is making a long-awaited entry into the platform with a new real-time call translation system on both mobile and desktop. Microsoft promised during the announcement “you can chat with someone who speaks another language and the translation will happen automatically in real time during the conversation.” It’s enough for people who speak different languages to communicate more easily, whether it’s during a meeting with colleagues or with a friend across borders! To automatically detect the languages spoken during a video call and translate them in real time, AI combines voice recognition technology and natural language processing to understand and interpret spoken words and translate them into the desired language. Currently, only a few languages are available, including English, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. All this should allow you to create “a very familiar yet fresh and modern new experience”as the company promised in a lengthy press release.
