AppleInsider Staff
Skype on Wednesday became the latest app to take advantage of Apple's new iOS 10 APIs, with the popular VoIP product now supporting both Siri commands and CallKit for a completely integrated experience.
With Skype version 6.25, users can now place calls by invoking Siri. For example, if a user has John Smith's Skype information in Contacts, they can initiate a Skype call simply by telling Siri to "Call John Smith."
Contact list integration, enabled by CallKit in iOS 10, extends beyond phone calls. Users can also use the Contacts app to invite friends to Skype. Further, CallKit enables incoming Skype calls to appear as regular phone calls in the lock screen, complete with the usual slide to answer UI.
Aside from iOS 10-only options, the new app version lets users buy Skype Credit with Israeli Shekels and better differentiates contacts from bots in the in-app contacts list.
Skype version 6.25 is available as a free download from the iOS App Store.
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
6 Comments
The new update causes skype calls to be disconnected after locking the iPhone. Not nice Microsoft.
Siri integration only works with calls so far, not messaging in Skype. You can't say "Siri, send a message to 'xx' via Skype" like you can with WhatsApp.
Does anybody know if Microsoft is still working aggressively with the NSA to provide unfettered access to Skype conversations, phone calls, contacts, etc?
But yuck ... now back to the "Yes" / "No" answers on contextual questions? That was deemed a no-no in Apple's User Interface Guidelines. I know, in this case, the buttons represent direct answers to a verbal question, but if you're reading the screen, you must read the question to know which button to press. If the buttons were labeled "Not Now" and "Call", that would be better, I think.