Heads up, video chatters. Skype on Thursday announced it has redesigned its apps for Android, iPhone, and iPad.
Skype 6.0 for Android — which is rolling out today — offers simpler navigation, inspired by Google's Material Design standard, along with enhanced search and messaging. Meanwhile, Skype 6.0 for iPhone and iPad, available now, offers a "completely redesigned" user interface including a new, more powerful search feature.
The new Android version features a "floating action button" that lets you easily start a new video or audio call, text chat, or video message. On iOS, you can now use swipe gestures to quickly make calls and manage your messages. There's also a new "recents" tab on iOS, which lets you search your messages to find contacts and groups.
Skype also brought all the features of its iPhone app to iPad devices, including the ability to share your location, send large emoticons, and see web link previews.
"We are really excited to get all these improvements into your hands," Skype said in a blog post. "We are dedicated to continuously making Skype the best way to connect, and can't wait to hear your feedback on Skype 6.0!"
The latest version of Skype for Android is rolling out to the Play Store now while the revamped iPhone and iPad versions can be found in the App Store.
Meanwhile on the video chat front, T-Mobile on Thursday introduced a new feature that lets you make video calls as easily as a phone call. "Of course, there are apps that do video calling," T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray acknowledged. "But this isn't another app."
On devices with T-Mobile Video Calling, you'll see a small camera icon next to contacts with devices able to receive video calls. If the person you're trying to reach can't take video calls, the video icon will be grayed out.
The feature works on LTE and Wi-Fi, and "moves seamlessly" between the two. This means that if you move off LTE or Wi-Fi to a slower connection, your video will automatically switch over to a standard voice call. Then if you move back to a faster connection, you can turn the video back on with a single tap.
At this point, the feature is only available on two devices — the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5, and you'll need to update your software to get it. T-Mobile plans to soon expand Video Calling to the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge before making it available on three more devices before the end of the year, for a total of seven. The company said it's also working with other carriers to eventually let you take advantage of built-in video calling across wireless networks.
To get Video Calling on your Galaxy S6 Edge+ or Galaxy Note 5, head over to Settings > About Device > Software Update.
The new feature comes after T-Mobile last year first rolled out nationwide voice over LTE, which essentially turns voice calls into Internet data on the company's 4G LTE network, and last month gave messaging a boost with read receipts, real-time chat, and large file support.