We only still have 24 hours a day, but sometimes it seems like it’s never enough for all the stuff we have to do, things we have to watch, people we have to talk to. Free call and messaging app Skype tries to solve one of our multi-tasking problems with the latest update, which allows you to do other things while still on a call.
The picture-on-picture feature for Skype is now available for smartphones, and it allows you to multi-task while you’re still on a call. The video will be reduced to an inset while you do other things, like take notes if it’s a business meeting, do other work things if it’s a personal call, or browse your social networks if you’re bored with whom you’re talking to. You can also now receive photos from Skype if it’s coming from an iPhone or other clients.
The update also adds a few more minor tweaks, like the chat loads faster, particularly if you open it from a notification. The chat feature can also now support formatted text like *bold*, _italic_, and ~strikethrough~ for when you want to put a bit of emphasis on what you’re typing. There is also now native support for Hindi.
While Skype is one of the earliest applications that had free messages and calls, it seems that it has been left behind with the popularity of messaging apps like Viber, LINE, Hangouts, etc. But new features and improvements as of late means they’re trying to bring in new users. But the aforementioned apps have also added free video calls, so competition is really heating up. If you don’t have Skype yet, you can download it from the Google Play Store for free.
The worse app for video calls! I like the Skype, but Android app isn’t the best way to use it.