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‘Tis the season for candid iPhone pictures of holiday festivities.
Microsoft is streamlining photo sharing on Skype on iOS with the new 6.8 update, the company announced this week. “Skype 6.8 for iPhone and iPad makes sharing content with friends on Skype really easy,” wrote the company’s Skype Team in a Dec. 15 blog post. “Simply tap on a share button to send links from apps and websites or photos from your camera roll directly to a Skype contact—just select the friend you want to share with and send.”
Skype 6.8 integrates with the built-in content-sharing module that appears in iOS when users elect to send photos and Web links over email, Twitter or SMS. Now, with version 6.8, users can add Skype as one of the sharing options. “To get set up, select some content to share > swipe to the ‘More; button > then switch sharing on for Skype in ‘Activities,'” instructed Microsoft.
On the Android side of fence, the software giant announced the official launch of its Skype for Business (formerly Lync) app for Android devices.
The business-centric communications software features a new dashboard design that consolidates the contact search bar, recent conversations and upcoming meetings. The app also makes it tougher for unauthorized users to gain access.
“The Skype for Business Android app now supports modern authentication, which is utilized by other Office clients and allows for a consistent authentication experience for your users,” said Praveen Maloo, product marketing manager for the Skype for Business team, in a Dec. 16 announcement. “Moreover, since modern authentication is based on access tokens, users’ credentials are not stored on their device.”
The releases follow a number of updates Microsoft has issued to the Skype ecosystem.
Earlier this month, Microsoft added new sharing options to Skype 7.16 for Windows. A new media toolbar displays five options—photos, files, video messages, contacts and emoticons – that allow users to quickly share content during Skype chats.
Microsoft also removed some of the mystery from URLs that point to online videos and images.
“Now, you will be able to see a preview of what was shared with you rather than a long, ugly link,” announced the company on Dec. 3. “With URL preview, you can see the video or image preview of what is about to be shared with you or what you just shared with someone.”
Last week, the company added Brazilian Portuguese to the list of spoken languages supported by Skype Translator.
Available in the Skype for Windows app, Skype Translator provides real-time translation services for a handful of voice languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish and now Brazilian Portuguese. “With Brazilian Portuguese as one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, today’s news is yet another step in Skype’s mission to help people connect through conversation simply and easily, regardless of where you are in the world, and what language you speak,” stated Microsoft in a Dec. 10 statement.