PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

PCMag UK

Skype Completes Translator Rollout for Windows

Angela Moscaritolo
 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

On top of celebrating 10 years of video calling, Skype announced another major milestone this week.

The chat service on Wednesday finished rolling out its translator feature, which lets you have a conversation with someone over the Internet who speaks a different language, to all Skype for Windows users.

Skype first launched the feature in preview a little more than a year ago with Spanish to English translations, and it can now speak five additional languages: Chinese Mandarin, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. To date, French to English is the most popular language pair, Skype said.

In other Skype news, the service on Thursday announced it now plays nice with the business collaboration platform Slack. Available in preview, the new integration lets Slack teams easily make a Skype voice or video call, for those times when you have too much to say to type it all out.

If you're already on Slack, head over to this page and click on the "Add to Slack" button to set it up. Once you configure the Skype integration, just type "/skype" into the chat to start a call.

"We're excited to introduce the preview of the integration to teams on Slack and we can't wait to let you try it," the Skype team wrote in a blog post.

Meanwhile, Skype also this week announced new group video calling for iOS, Android, and Windows 10 Mobile. In 2014, the company made group video calling, free on Windows, Mac, and Xbox One. Now, the same function is rolling out to mobile devices as well.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read the latest from Angela Moscaritolo

Read full bio