As Microsoft prepares for its July 29 launch of Windows 10, it has announced that the Modern version of Skype will retire on July 7. The announcement came on June 11 on the official Skype blog, posted by Aga Guzik, Skype’s senior product marketing manager.
“We’re simplifying your PC experience down to one app that you can use either with your mouse and keyboard or with touch,” wrote Guzik. “Starting on July 7, we’re updating PC users of the Windows modern application to the Windows desktop application, and retiring the modern application.”
But in order to fully understand the impact of this move, it’s worth looking at the differences between Modern Skype and the desktop edition.
Skype for modern Windows is designed to be optimized on touch screen devices. Although it looks slightly different, it has all of the same features as the desktop edition of Skype, including video calling and instant messaging.
Skype for Windows desktop is exactly what it sounds like – it allows you to run Skype right from your desktop. Its appearance is a bit different from Modern, but it shares the same functionality and features.
To prepare for the end of Modern Skype, Guzik encourages users to start getting used to it now in her blog post.
“Anyone trying to access the modern application on PCs starting from July 7 forward will be automatically directed to download the desktop application,” Guzik warns.
However, you won’t lose everything right when the transition happens. Guzik notes that your contacts and conversations from the past 30 days will be accessible after July 7. If you happen to be using Skype on your Windows desktop, you won’t need to make any changes at all.
Finally, Skype for Messaging, Phone, and Skype video were addressed in the blog post. These apps, which are slated to work with Windows 10, will roll out later this year. Microsoft says it will utilize the opportunity to gauge user feedback.
