Microsoft To Remove Highlights From Its Program
Microsoft has redesigned Skype so many times; it’s easy to lose count. And now, the company is redesigning the popular chat app again. The company has been making minor changes to the program for many years, but Microsoft looks to make a huge design change to its Snapchat-like Highlights feature.
The change is the removal of Highlights so that Skype is simple to use once more.
According to Peter Skillman, director of design for Skype, it became harder for people to make calls and it didn’t sit right with a majority of its users. He said the company had to remove the feature to simply the program once more.
Microsoft’s latest Skype design approach is putting attention on why people are actually using the service such as calling, messaging and video chatting. The Skype mobile app is also going to be redesigned, eliminating the features that people don’t use and de-cluttering the interface. For the desktop, Microsoft will move chats, contacts, calls and notifications to the left side of the window – giving them a central location for navigation.
Skillman said the company looked at how Skype apps were being used, carrying out an array of tests throughout the world and creating prototypes that tested the new ideas out. He said the company listened to user feedback and was committed to improving the Skype experience for its users.
Many users were severely unhappy with the changes Microsoft made to Skype last year. And, since that time, the company spent a good chunk of time rectifying its mistake to get rid of the Snapchat-like features.
Microsoft said it would phase the app out entirely from the desktop but received criticism for the move. Many users still would rather use the original desktop app, and Microsoft would need to find a way to work the feedback into the changes it plans on making.
Skype has gone through a host of changes since Microsoft took it to a server-based format. During the transition, there was a real issue with poor reliability, broken notifications, etc. In a time where there is a plethora of other chat services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, FaceTime, Messenger and WeChat, Microsoft should focus in simplifying Skype or else it would have a hard time winning back users’ trust.
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