Microsoft has been concentrating on delivering its services on non-Microsoft platforms. This seems to be Microsoft’s new strategy after killing their own Windows Mobile platform. And while doing so, Microsoft is getting success in getting a good amount of user base for its cross-platform applications and services. This includes applications like Office Apps, Skype, Microsoft Teams and more. And this is clearly being seen that these applications work great and are feature rich and sometimes get feature before their Windows 10 counterparts and that’s why the users love them.
Microsoft recently started rolling out newer Skype experience for its customers using Android and iOS devices. And this update was one of those updates which were delivered to Windows 10 later on. Still, this new update is not released to the public yet. Microsoft has just released this newly overhauled Skype experience to Windows Insiders in the fast ring. But the update is so good that some people might get tempted to get it, and they enroll to the Windows Insiders program on a machine that is not recommended. This creates problems further to the overall experience of the user. But we have got these users covered. The is a way by which they can run this new Skype experience on Windows 10 1803.
Get new Skype app without joining Windows Insider Program
First of all, you need to make sure that you are running the latest version of Skype UWP app.
For that, open the Microsoft Store app and go to the Downloads and Updates section.
Hit on Get Updates button on the top right corner.
Now, if any update is pending for your Skype UWP app, it will be installed.
After this process is done, open the Skype UWP App.
Now, click on the 3-dot menu button labeled as E in the screen snippet below.
Now, an options box will popup where you should scroll down to Skype App Preview section.
And then click on the button that says Join Preview.
Then you will get a confirmation that you have joined the Skype Preview program.
Now, check for updates in the Microsoft Store. If you don’t get an update suddenly, give it a few minutes before you try again.
This will help you in getting pre-release updates for the Skype UWP App for Windows 10 only as long as you stay in the program.
Now, after the updates are installed, you will get the newly overhauled Skype UWP App that looks like the mockup below.
What’s new with this update?
As per the changelog posted by the official support page for Skype, here is the latest changelog for the new Skype UWP App.
- Best in class calling experience – We’ve added several new calling features to make Skype’s calling experience even better than before.
- Flexible group call canvas– Customize your group call experience and decide who appears in the main call canvas.? Simply drag and drop people between the call canvas and the overflow ribbon to select who you want to focus on-
- Take snapshots – Use snapshots to capture images of important moments within a call. Snapshots makes sure you never forget important memories like your grandkid’s funny antics or crucial information like the content that’s been screenshared during a meeting.
- Easily start screensharing – We’ve made sharing your screen during calls even easier. Look for the ability to share your screen with the top level call controls.
- New layout – Based on your feedback, we’ve made your contacts easier to access and view
- Customizable themes – Choose a color?and theme for your Skype client through your application settings.
- And much more – Improvements to our media gallery, notifications panel, @mentions experience and more!
You can read more about this new overhauled UWP app here on the official release notes.
Please note that preview apps may be buggy and can cause your Skype preview app release to not work as smoothly as expected. So, it is up to the user only who is installing this app in case anything goes wrong.