Skype for Windows 10 is now a fully-fledged app with some cool new features

[sincity]

It’s official: Skype for Windows 10 is no longer an app in testing, with Microsoft having stripped the ‘Preview’ tag from the title with the latest version.

In other words, the software giant is now comfortable enough to recommend that the Skype universal app is fully usable for all, and you should be fine using it as your main client (as opposed to the traditional Skype desktop app which is the only choice for those on non-Windows 10 machines).

As spotted by MS Power User, this new version of the Skype app (v11.13.115.0) brings some neat features, including support for Skype SMS, allowing users to send texts using Skype Credit.

It also makes some useful changes to the interface, such as new keyboard shortcuts when it comes to messaging, and a redesigned layout for group video calling.

Furthermore, it’s now possible to search Skype chats for specific messages – which could be a very handy feature. Plus you can switch over the camera and/or microphone, or indeed the device you’re using, while making a Skype call on-the-fly.

• The Dell XPS 13 is choice hardware for using Skype

Wallet-friendly Hello

In other Microsoft-related happenings, MS Power User also spotted the release of a new standalone Windows Hello camera which allows users to benefit from this secure login method if their Windows 10 machine doesn’t come with an integrated camera.

The peripheral is made by Mouse Computer and one of the chief attractions is that it’s affordably priced at $70 (around £55, AU$90) – other third-party Windows Hello-compatible cameras have been considerably more expensive to date.

And a final note in our mini-Microsoft news roundup: the company has hit the headlines because, according to the Verge, over at the China Development Forum, Tim Cook was present and Microsoft provided the Apple CEO with a Surface Pro 4 to use at a session.

It’s not clear what Cook did with the hybrid, or whether he actually used the device, but the latter is doubtful to say the least. Particularly given his previous comments regarding Microsoft’s convertibles – a couple of years back, he accused the Surface Book of “trying to be a tablet and a notebook and [succeeding] at being neither”.

• Will you be using Skype for Windows 10 on the imminent Surface Book 2?