How do you like the new chat UI within Skype? Do you actually chat within Skype, or is it more of a tool you use to chat via video? Let us know in the comments. Naturally, the Skype team promises more updates in the future, and to respond to feedback. And Microsoft also promised that the free group video calls that the company previously announced will work better than ever. Phase one of the preview displays Skype meetings for the day and the. Skype for Mac 7.0 adds the ability to text-chat and video-chat in side-by-side windows, sharing photos and documents alongside the live commentary that you and your friends can provide. Business customers can request early access to the Mac client at. When chat is tucked into a narrow window, however, it seems to work well. Say hello with an instant message, voice or video call all for free, no matter what device they use Skype on. Skype for Mac 7.0 adds simultaneous text and voice chats. Skype has donned new clothes and gained new features for both Mac and Windows today, though the one for the latter's just a preview, which means its changes aren't final. Microsoft touts this increased spacing as a benefit, although it may prove a bit annoying to scroll back through a long chat. Both are useful features when talking back and forth with a colleague or friend, although the layout isn’t quite ideal-they sort of dominate the conversation.

Photos can easily be dropped into a chat session, as can documents. A new version of the Skype for Business for Mac Preview is now available, adding new contacts and presence, IM, peer-to-peer calling, group video calling.

In general, the new chat UI looks nice, with round avatars representing your friends.

Skype for mac preview