At Microsoft’s Build 2014, Microsoft blew the lid off of Windows Phone 8.1 — the newest member of its OS family, and also how Skype will be integrated into Cortana, its new digital assitant.
Skype for Windows Phone 8.1 will let you upgrade calls to video chats, making it the very first mobile application to do so. Skype calls on Windows Phone already look native when they’re being received, so it’s a natural progression for Skype to allow this new functionality. While this is still in preview, and Skype is promising “more to come in the next few months,” it seems to work great from what we’ve seen.
Simply put, if you’re already on a normal call, when you hit the Skype call button, the connection is set up in the background until it’s ready to go and you’re connected via Skype through both video and audio connections. Once this connection has been made, the normal call is dropped and you’re officially transitioned over to a Skype call.
you’ll also be able to enjoy Skype with Cortana
That’s not all, though. As mentioned, you’ll also be able to enjoy Skype with WP’s new Cortana digital assistant. You’ll be able to tell Cortana to initiate a Skype call. For instance, to call our official Skype account (username: TruTower) you would simply open Cortana and say “Skype, message TruTower” and your Skype app will open and you’ll be able to message us from there.
It’s not known yet whether Skype will come preinstalled with Windows Phone 8.1, but we’ll be sure to post an article when we know for sure.
Microsoft also noted that an upcoming update to Skype for Windows 8.1 will let you pin Skype to the taskbar, making it accessible on your start screen as well as on desktop mode.