It seemed like it wasn’t too long that Microsoft released a new version of Skype where it featured a brand new design. However it looks like Microsoft could be going back to the drawing board again, as announced on the Skype Blog in which Microsoft revealed their plans to redesign the app, this time with a focus on simplicity.According to Microsoft, “As Skype functionality has expanded, so too has its complexity. As with any feature rich product, maintaining simplicity while enhancing functionality is critical to usability. This past year we explored some design changes and heard from customers that we overcomplicated some of our core scenarios. Calling became harder to execute and Highlights didn’t resonate with a majority of users. We needed to take a step back and simplify!”
The company does have a point in which over time apps can become bloated with a ton of functionality, some of which were left over from earlier versions. Given that Skype was released in 2003, this means that the app has been growing for the past 15 years. According to Microsoft, some of the changes include a simplified navigation with a focus on texting and calling.
They’ve also updated it to make it easier to discover contacts, and also adding a “modern, fresh look, and feel” to it. Whether or not this will result in a better user experience remains to be seen, but Microsoft is claiming how they’ve worked with their Skype customers to listen to their needs, so hopefully this will be what (some) users want.