Skype Insiders are in for a treat as Microsoft has begun rolling out a new Spotify add-in for Skype version 8.26 and higher. Skype Insider’s Twitter handle has just tweeted about this rollout.
As mentioned in the tweet, the add-in is only available to Skype Insiders in the US. It will be available soon to all Skype Insiders around the world.
In case you didn’t know, Skype add-ins are services that you can integrate into Skype chats. These add-ins are available only on Android(version 6 and above), iPhone, and iPad which is funny because Skype is a Microsoft service and the Windows version of Skype doesn’t support add-ins.
Skype add-ins can be added on supported devices by tapping the Add to Chat (+) button. You can select the required Add-in and click Send to your contact at the bottom to send a URL or card to the chat.
Skype was once the most popular communication app but soon it lost its ground in front of apps like WhatsApp and Messenger. Skype is still used primarily as a business communication app but Microsoft has been trying a lot to make Skype more appealing to consumers. Last year Skype received a massive design overhaul inspired a lot from apps like Facebook and Snapchat.
How to use Spotify add-in in Skype
With the Spotify add-in, users can search for songs, artists, and albums. They can preview and share music and of course, they can also play music on Spotify.
Once the user opens the Spotify Add-in, they can search for music or choose something from the suggestions. While searching, the user can also preview the song by tapping the play button. However, not all songs will have a preview option, and for those songs, the play button will be unavailable.
After selecting the song, the user can press the Send button to share the preview with his contact.
Tap on the Play on Spotify link to play the full song. Songs without the preview can also be sent to contacts but the contact would have to play the song on the Spotify app or website.
We hope that add-ins like Spotify can get more users for Skype, but Microsoft still has a lot more to go if they want Skype to be more consumer friendly.