Microsoft is “leading the way!” Today, July 13, 2016, many years after the first release, an alpha version of the Skype for Linux application was released.
The new application is a WebRTC client that uses Skype's new architecture.
The company states:
Skype for Linux Alpha is not a fully functioning Skype client as of yet. Once you've downloaded the app, you'll notice that it's very different to the Skype for Linux client you use today. For example, you'll be using the latest, fastest and most responsive Skype UI, so you can share files, photos, videos and a whole new range of new emoticons with your friends.
That means the app doesn't work as it should yet. If you download the app, you'll notice that it doesn't look like the current Skype for Linux. For example, it will use the app's latest fast UI so you can share files, photos, videos, and tons of emoticons with your friends.
The new alpha version for Linux is available from the Microsoft site.
Microsoft also announced today that using a Chromebook or the Chrome browser on Linux can now make group voice calls through the app. (Chromebook users could already send messages through Skype.)
So starting today, anyone using a Chromebook or Chrome for Linux can access the feature via web.skype.com.
“This is an alpha version of Skype based on WebRTC and has the same features as the alpha version of the Skype client for Linux. It is our initial step on the path to replicating ORTC capabilities beyond Microsoft Edge,” the company says.
Video calling and calling to landlines and mobile phones will be coming “soon” to the Chrome browser for Linux and Chromebooks (sometime in the coming weeks or months), a Microsoft post today states.
Be the first to download the Alpha version
