Yesterday, Microsoft rolled out its latest Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview, build 14327, to supported devices on the Fast ring. Along with various fixes and known issues, it also includes a preview of the new Messaging Everywhere feature, which allows users to send and receive SMS text messages to and from their Windows 10 PCs via their phones.
But the new build introduced another significant change on the messaging front, as Microsoft removed Skype integration from the Messaging app. It follows the company"s recent announcement that it is ditching the unpopular Messaging + Skype experience in response to user feedback, in favor of a standalone Skype app built on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), which can run across a range of Windows 10 devices.
The new UWP app is already available to Insiders on the Fast ring in PC build 14316, which was released earlier this month - but Windows 10 Mobile users haven"t yet got their first taste of it. With its rollout of build 14327 yesterday, Microsoft only said that it would introduce "the Skype UWP Preview app for mobile in an upcoming build".
Over on its Skype Garage & Updates blog, it reiterated that it will "soon be releasing the Skype UWP Preview app to your mobile devices", adding:
The mobile release of the Skype UWP Preview app will bring you features you’ve asked for—like group calling and more—while leveraging the benefits of the Skype integration into Windows 10 you previously experienced, like a single view of your SMS and Skype conversations. This way you get the best Skype experience possible and you can take it across your Windows devices.
While the integrated Messaging + Skype experience has been removed in the latest build, Microsoft evidently plans to offer similar functionality - with SMS and Skype messages available in the same place - in its new UWP app on Windows 10 Mobile devices.
It says to "keep an eye out for the mobile version of the Skype UWP Preview app", but beyond the familiar promise that it"s coming "soon", it hasn"t yet committed to a specific date on which to expect its arrival. With a bit of luck, it will hopefully show up in the next Windows 10 Mobile build.
Source: Skype Garage & Updates