Skype joins the Start screen club, will come pre-installed in Windows 8.1

By Jennifer Bergen Published September 22, 2013

It’s just one Microsoft Windows announcement after the other lately. Yesterday, we heard the official news that the company will release the Windows 8.1 update to the general public starting October 17. Now that that cat is out of the bag, we have a feeling that the upcoming weeks will result in more and more Windows 8.1-related announcements. Today, on Microsoft’s Windows Experience Blog, the company announced Skype will bundled with Windows 8.1

Users will no longer have to download the Skype app again as Windows 8.1 will have it already installed. All you have to do is log in. Skype will be the “default communications experience in Windows 8.1,” according to Microsoft, since it will take over for Microsoft’s Windows 8 messaging app. According to the company’s rather large infographic, our Skype instant messages will “snap to the side as you’re watching a show or playing a game.” We’re looking forward to seeing this in action, as we’ve certainly had our share of instant messages pop up and distract our game play.

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Skype will also give users the ability to flip between an audio or video call and an instant message, as well as share files, photos, or video messages. Skype in Windows 8.1 will also feature the ability to answer voice and video calls from a lock screen – a huge boon for anyone who buys one of the upcoming 7- or 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets.

We’re just a little more than two months away from Windows 8.1’s release, so stay tuned for more updates.

Jennifer Bergen

Former Computing Editor

Jennifer Bergen is the Computing Section Editor at Digital Trends and is in charge of all things laptops, desktops, and their…

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