There’s no official announcement yet, but I see this morning that Skype for iPhone and iPad has received a fairly major update, with numerous new features. Key among them: Support for Siri and the ability to answer Skype calls above the lock screen.
Further curious, the version number has been bumped … to 6.25.1. And not something perhaps more befitting the amount of change we see here.
Anyway. Here’s what’s new.
Siri support. You can now use Siri commands to quickly start a Skype call. Well, you could if Siri was worth a damn. This is why I never use this feature on my iPhone.
Lock screen support. Now, you can answer Skype calls from your lock screen, just like a regular phone call. That’s a neat step towards a more elegant future. Who knows? Maybe someday SMS Relay will even work from iPhone.
Phone contacts integration. Now, you can store your store your Skype contacts in the device;’s contacts list.
Shekels support. You can now pay for Skype Credit in Israeli Shekels.
Invite friends to Skype more easily. Now you can invite your friends to Skype directly from the contacts list: Just tap “Add Contact” (“+”) and then choose the new “Invite friends to Skype” link.
Bots. Bots are now better differentiated from your contacts in the contacts list. Presumably because of their angular shape.