In the wake of its recent redesign for its Skype app for the iPhone and iPad, Microsoft has released yet another update to the messaging and video conferencing app to take advantage of the new features Apple introduced with iOS 9.
Microsoft's Skype Team announced the update in a blog post detailing the new features now available in Skype 6.3. Most prominent among the new features is the inclusion of support for iOS 9's multitasking features Split View and Slide Over.
Split View allows Skype for iOS to be opened side by side next to another app, with both apps taking up the same amount of screen space or one of them occupying a larger space than the other. Slide Over looks similar to Split View, but it works quite a bit differently by allowing the user to slide out a second app from the side of the screen and then put it back. The Skype Team says adding support for this two features makes it easier for its "millions" of users to share content over the app.
"Imagine you're planning a night out in London with a group of friends using IM or a group voice call," the team says. "Now you can share links to bars and restaurants and decide on the best place to meet without having to leave the app, just click on the shared content and bring it alongside your Skype conversation. It's a great way to get things done."
Skype now also allows iOS users to reply to Skype chats straight from their notifications. However, users will still have to enable this feature on their iPhone or iPad by opening the Settings app, going to Notifications > Skype, then allowing Notifications and Banners. Once Notifications and Banners are enabled, users will be able to reply to messages without opening the Skype app itself.
Microsoft also added support for Spotlight search by letting users start a chat with a contact directly from Spotlight. When users go to Spotlight to search for a Skype contact. Once that contact appears, users simply have to tap on the contact to start chatting.
The Skype Team also suggests that users automatically add their address book contacts to Skype. This way, users will be able to start a Skype chat with them straight from the Spotlight search. To add contacts to, users have to open Skype then go to Settings under My Info, where they will find the option to automatically add friends.
