Microsoft to Kill Skype App

Microsoft has announced the discontinuation of support for the Skype app on Windows phone 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.  The company will stop support for the app from October 2016. Moreover, Microsoft will be discontinuing the app for Windows 8.1 and 8 phones completely in “early 2017”.

Microsoft will kill off the app in early 2017 till then users will be able to use the app. Hence, users will have to face a few limitations.

Who Will Be Effected?

The decision to kill off the Skype app will effect more than just Windows phone users. Users with Android operating system version 4.0.3 and older versions will also be unable to use the app after early 2017. Furthermore, the decision will also affect Windows RT users.

The app support page reads “While support will no longer be available from October 2016, the Skype app on Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1, it will continue to work (with some limitations) until early 2017, when we finish moving Skype calling to the cloud. ”

Microsoft has announced that support for the app on other platforms will be available. Windows 7, 8, XP and Vista, Yosemite on Mac, and iOS 8 OS will remain unaffected by this decision.

“These decisions are hard to make, but they are necessary as Skype moves forward so we can deliver new experiences on devices that have the capability to support them. As such, we will begin to implement these changes over the coming months” said Skype chief Gurdeep Pall.

“Our focus will be on the newly released lighter, faster and more responsive UWP app for Windows 10, Skype for iPhone, iPad and Android as well as a web-based native version of Skype for other supported platforms like previous Windows operating systems, Mac and Linux, which will benefit from the latest ORTC or WebRTC technology that we’ve been working on for the last year,” he added.

Microsoft also abandoned Skype for TV back in June stating that they found that even in the living room, customers opted for their mobile devices when making or receiving calls.