Microsoft’s new Skype app for Windows 8 has leaked out early, showing how the app has been modernized for Microsoft’s tablet-first approach to the look and feel of its apps. Although the app is marked as an ‘App Preview,’ Neowin
says that it performs fluidly and is relatively stable. The app is expected to adopt exactly the same appearance and functional approach for Windows RT-based tablets as well.
Microsoft is now labeling the interface its ‘Modern UI’ following its decision to drop the ‘Metro UI’ term for undisclosed reasons. Although the Skype app adopts the design language and layout of other Modern UI apps, which are aimed at tablet users, the interface should continue to be just as functional for PC users using mice as their preferred mode of input.
While Microsoft has released several of its in-house apps as ‘App Preview’ versions, thus far, Skype has been only tested internally. It is not know whether the company plans on releasing it for wider testing ahead of the official launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT on October 26. So far, while not all functionality is complete, users can use the app to initiate voice and video calls, as well as chatting via text.
