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Skype for Web now supports Safari on desktop and iOS

A screenshot of a Skype call running on a laptop

If you're still using Microsoft's Skype, you may be happy to hear that the company has updated the chat app to version 8.71. While the new release doesn't bring any huge new features, there's a pretty significant addition for those using Skype for Web. Microsoft says the service is now compatible with "most browsers" on both mobile and desktop, which really seems to mean that Safari is now supported.

According to the support page Microsoft links to, Skype for Web still doesn't support Firefox, but it will work on Safari 13.1 or higher, and what's more impressive about that is that it actually works on both desktop and mobile devices, meaning macOS and iOS. Microsoft also mentions support for Microsoft Edge versions 43 or higher on mobile, but this likely only refers to iOS, where every browser is based on Safari's WebKit.

You'll see that Chromium-based browsers are not supported on mobile, meaning the Android versions of Edge and Chrome won't work, which we've been able to verify. That makes Microsoft's claim of supporting "virtually every desktop and mobile browser" somewhat dubious, but it should still be good news for iOS users who can't be bothered to install the Skype app.

Aside from the news for web users, there are only some smaller changes for desktop. It's now possible to rename Meet Now meetings when creating them, along with adding a photo to personalize them. Microsoft has also added new scenes for Together Mode, which was first implemented late last year.

Finally, Microsoft fixed some issues with the app, including a fix for iOS and Android users where their status could automatically change to active.

If you're interested, you can download your preferred version of Skype from here, or access the web version in your browser using this link. If you're using one of the Electron-based apps, it's worth noting that it got updated a couple of months ago to use a newer version of Electron with improved performance.

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