Skype for Android Picks Up Dark Theme, More

Skype for Android was just updated with a new dark theme and several other features that should help assuage some of the big complaints about the look and feel of the new Skype.

“We’re listening to your feedback and working hard to improve Skype,” Microsoft notes on the Skype for Android app notes in the Google Play Store.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Microsoft hasn’t blogged about the update yet, possibly because it’s not available yet on iPhone or iPad. But here’s what’s new in the Android version:

New themes. Now, when you navigate to User > Settings > Theme, you can choose between Light and Dark themes in addition to the in-theme color schemes from before. The Dark theme helps tone down the colorfulness of Skype, if that was bugging you.

Activity indicators. Previously, the new Skype didn’t display an activity indicator on each user bubble. But now they do, so you can see who is currently active in your Chats list. It’s a bit simplified compared to the desktop client: Available friends display a green activity highlight, but other users show nothing.

Chat reorder. Now, you can sort the Chats list using a hard-to-see “Sort” icon to the right of the Search Skype bar. Available sort types include “Sort by Recent” (the default), “Sort by Unread,” and “Sort by Active.”

Additionally, Microsoft has made “general performance and reliability improvements,” as you’d expect.

You can download Skype for Android from the Google Play Store. I assume the iOS version will be updated soon as well.

 

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 2 comments

  • Rycott

    Premium Member
    05 August, 2017 - 9:08 am

    <p>Makes it much more tolerable to my eyes. Helps with battery as well.</p>

  • matsan

    06 August, 2017 - 12:15 am

    <p>Wow – I just realized that I haven't opened Skype in a month. All my contacts have moved on to other messaging systems. </p><p>I am only occasionally exposed to Skype for Business and that's a pain when you are using it infrequently – downloads and installs every freaking time. </p><p>Oh the joy of technology. </p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC