- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is rolling out a new version of Skype that boasts some Snapchat-esque (NYSE:SNAP) features that make the app look both more modern and more like a social networking hub.
- Key features include Highlights, which look like Snapchat’s Stories, and the ability to decorate captured still images with graphics and text. Users can swipe to access the camera quickly, react to Highlights with emojis, and add bots like Cortana to chat.
- Snapchat’s style previously inspired Facebook’s Instagram to add its own expiring Stories. The style influences outweigh Snapchat’s actual user base, which included 166M monthly active users as of the May earnings report.
- Microsoft paid $8.5B to acquire Skype in 2011. As of last year’s Build event, Skype had 300 million monthly users.
- The new Skype is now available for Android devices with an iOS version arriving next month.
- Now read: Snap On The Verge Of A Snapback Rally
Original article