While Microsoft had announced earlier this year that it will be replacing Skype Classic (Skype 7.0) with an updated Skype 8.0, the company said yesterday that it will end support of Skype Classic in two phases beginning on November 1, 2018.
In an update to users on upgrading to the latest version of Skype, editors wrote on September 27, “As we continue to focus on and improve Skype version 8, support for Skype versions 7, and below will end on November 1, 2018 on desktop devices and November 15, 2018 on mobile and tablet devices. Although you may be able to use older versions for a little while, we encourage you to update today to avoid any interruption.”
Since announcing the roll out of the newest version, Microsoft has boasted about the features of Skype 8.0. The Skype team wrote about the simplified navigation and easy-to-discover contacts, all creating a modern, fresh look and feel; however, it continues to encourage community members to send feedback on what features they would like to see in the version 8.0.
“We looked at how people use Skype apps, performing extensive testing across global markets and building prototypes to test new concepts. We also created a UserVoice site so you can vote on the feature changes you want us to prioritize. While we have plenty of work left to do, we hope you find these changes simplify your experience and bring you closer to those who matter,” the Skype team wrote.
The "work left to do" has some members of the Skype community feeling a bit disgruntled and somewhat unprepared for the November 1 transition. “You've barely begun the feature migration at this point, and Nov 1 is one month away. It's simply not going to be ready by then, and that's based on looking at the latest Insider/Preview builds (i.e. what the public will have in November). Skype 14 doesn't even have a tray icon yet (you close the window, its gone),” one user wrote.
“'Several months' after November should be the earliest consideration for the first wave, not the last splash. You should have waited for the work to actually be largely complete before making such an announcement. This seems like an unforced error and not a lesson learned,” wrote the user.