AppleInsider Staff
Microsoft on Thursday launched a redesigned version 7.0 of its popular Skype chat application for Mac OS X, making it a 64-bit application, introducing a new file transfer presentation with inline images, and much more.
Skype for Mac 7.0 is now available as a free download from the service's website. It requires OS X 10.9 Mavericks or later, and the update gives it a consistent appearance with versions of Skype for mobile devices, such as Apple's iPhone.
Additions include thumbnail pictures of contacts, a new bubble-style chat design, and consistent icons for chat, video calls and audio calls. The update also allows images to now display inline when sent through chat for instant viewing.
Other file sharing enhancements include displaying appropriate file icons for various file types, including Office documents and PDFs, allowing users to easily scan and find different files in chat history.
Skype for Mac 7.0 also allows users to chat and call simultaneously with one click. Using this function, users can share messages, photos or files without having to leave a call.
Free group video calls are also said to work better than ever with the latest version of Skype. Interestingly, while Skype for Mac 7.0 is a final release, an accompanying update for Microsoft's own Windows platform is presented as a "preview."
Other features of Skype for Mac 7.0, according to Microsoft, are:
- Support for large emoticons
- Your Favorites conversations now "roam" and sync on supported platforms
- Support for limited instant message formatting. Microsoft has advised that users keep an eye on the Skype blogs to learn more about this feature soon
- Various bug fixes
Andrew O'Hara
Malcolm Owen
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Mike Wuerthele and Malcolm Owen
45 Comments
I assume it's also still completely insecure and porous to the NSA and any other hacking group.
I guess it doesn’t look terrible anymore. Bad, but not terrible.
I don’t see why people are so enamored with Skype. It’s garbage compared to iChat.
I guess it doesn’t look terrible anymore. Bad, but not terrible.
I don’t see why people are so enamored with Skype. It’s garbage compared to iChat.
Because it's cross-platform, unlike iChat, which is OSX-only.
Among Apple users.
I guess it doesn’t look terrible anymore. Bad, but not terrible.
I don’t see why people are so enamored with Skype. It’s garbage compared to iChat.
I agree. Buggy, laggy, insecure crap. I wish Apple would make FaceTime cross-platform, because I think it would wipe the floor with Skype. But there's a lot of PCs out there, so folks (even Mac users) end up using Skype.