And so the integration continues across the board at the Microsoft offices. The company is getting Windows 8.1 preview (available for download yesterday) out the door, but the company is also keeping some things saved for the final 8.1 (also known as Blue) release.
One of these interesting tidbits was just disclosed by The Verge, with a reveal that Skype would be replacing the native Messaging app in Windows 8 according to the all-important “sources familiar with Microsoft plans.”
Skype will be integrated even further into Windows 8.1 and will also bring some key improvements to the platform. One of these improvements worth mentioning is with the ability to answer calls from the OS’s lock screen.
With the retirement of Windows Live Messenger back in April, Microsoft has been working tirelessly to get rid of other remnants of the service, and the Messaging app definitely fell under that category, built into Windows 8 from the start. Skype itself will stay a standalone app but will be able to tie in to other applications.
We’ll be able to see this integration when the new updated OS ships with the new 7-inch and 8-inch tablets later this year.