For some time since Microsoft acquired Skype, the conferencing and messaging software, users have been plagued by messages that won’t sync from one device to another. Additional problems included delayed notifications of new messages or notification of messages that have already been read. Anyone who used iMessages in its early days will recall similar, frustrating issues with Apple’s internet chat service.
On the Skype blog, Elaine Ansell directly addressed the problems and announced that fixes were available in the latest versions of the software.
“We know that as users have started using Skype on multiple devices, they’ve had difficulty keeping conversations in sync, or they’ve missed messages and seen “read” messages on one device that are still marked as “unread” on another. We’ve been working hard to solve these issues while adding other experiences to make an improved Skype chat.
Now, push notifications make sure you know when you have a new message in chat, and Skype chats are synced across all of your Skype-enabled devices.
You can scroll back on your mobile phone to see the conversation you had on your laptop just as easily as the chat you had with your best friend on your smartphone about a recipe.
We also understand the importance of knowing that messages you send have been delivered and that you receive all of the messages sent to you. Now you can have peace of mind that your friends will receive messages even if they’re not on Skype at the time you hit “send,” and, if you’ve read a Skype message on your phone, it’ll show as “read” when you check your messages on your laptop later in the evening.”
Ansell went on to say that Skype’s mobile updates include faster performance, better battery life, and quicker loading of the Skype app and recent conversations. She also revealed that future updates will only receive notifications on the device you’re actively using and that users’ Favorites contact list will “roam” and sync across all of your Skype-enabled devices. It has taken a while, but it’s a relief that Microsoft is finally paying some attention to the software, and trying to make the experience equal on all platforms.