Although Microsoft Edge has recently faced a lot of ridicule from Neowin readers because the Redmond tech giant keeps adding what many consider as "bloat" in its web browser, it seems that the company is hell-bent on this path. Now, it appears that a Skype Meet Now panel is being added to Microsoft Edge.
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The integration was spotted by eagle-eyed Redditor and regular Neowin news tipster u/Leopeva64-2, who spotted the change in the latest Edge Canary build. Essentially, you now have a new toggle in the Appearance setting that adds a Skype Meet Now button to the Edge omnibar. Clicking on it in the omnibar opens a Skype Meet Now panel directly in Microsoft Edge. A snippet of this can be seen in the image above.
Although the toggle is disabled by default, the latest move by Microsoft will likely once again spark debates about why something like this is directly integrated into the browser and not offered as an extension that users can optionally download. In fact, the change also opens up discussions around what is Microsoft"s recommended online communication app considering that Teams has a personal version that essentially competes against the consumer version of Skype too.
All in all, it"s not known yet when, or if, this integration will hit the stable release channel. Edge Canary is updated on a nightly basis so we do start to see features appear with more frequency there before they make their way over to Dev, Beta, and eventually Stable. Furthermore, this integration is being made available as a part of Microsoft"s "controlled rollout" strategy so not everyone may have it in their Edge build yet.