Microsoft is retiring its native Skype app for Linux. The Linux clients version 4.3 and older will formally leave the open source platform on July 1, and users will be able to access Skype only through its beta version following the given deadline.
Announcing the latest development, Microsoft has issued a notice on the Skype for Linux download page. “All Skype for Linux clients version 4.3 and older will be retired on July 1, 2017. To keep chatting, please install the latest version of Skype for Linux,” the notice reads.
Linux users will continue to use Skype through its beta version that got promoted from the alpha build in March. The Skype for Linux Beta client comes with basic functionality that includes Skype-to-Skype free calls, video calls to Skype contacts and instant messaging support.
Beta option lacks advanced features
However, the app lacks advanced features like screen sharing and API access. It also excludes advanced video and audio controls that you can access on Windows or Mac OS platforms.
The Skype for Linux Beta is available in DEB and RPM variants. But there isn’t any word on its Snap package. This technology would not even be adopted by the Skype team considering its lesser interest towards Linux compared with other platforms.
This title….
Why wouldn’t they? The desktop Linux market share is minuscule that does not justifies support. Those who are now firing hate response, cool down. That is precisely what happened to Microsoft phone. Developers abandoned it precisely for the same reason.
Dude fix the title. They are retiring the legacy 4.3 version of the app. They have actually been pretty responsive lately on work on the new version
it’s all written in the article
and that “new version” is (and will be) shit. it’s extremely bad written web version (available on web.skype.com) wrapped with Electron to resemble desktop app
it lacks both features and actual microsoft interest. they just did it to ditch the native version. there was 2 Electron wrappers for web before they released first version of that “new version” and both were better than the current solution (but still sucked just because web version sucks)
Original Skype code (before Microsoft bought Skype) was in Object Pascal, which is an easy language to deploy to Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and few more systems. Not sure what is Skype written in now, but I know that if Microsoft wanted it to target all platforms then it would, they hv all the resources (now eve xamarin, lol) and no need to depend on anything from the outside. Apparently Linuxn is not their focus, they obviously don’t recognize thisnplatform as important for Skype to be present on. And THAT is sad IMHO, not just the superficial fact of not having Skype for Linux, it’s not that important, there are alternatives.
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