microsoft is finally integrating teams directly into the operating system with windows 11 and the company is not ready to leave skype behind xda reports that the skype team has announced several new features coming to the platform in the near future promising to make the app better than everwhats new with skypecallingmicrosoft is redesigning the call stage the area of the call where participants are visible a lot of changes are being made here starting with a new design that fits both light and dark themes for the app next up is the video feed it will now be visible in the call stage as any other participant rather than having a small window in the corner though you can disable thisthe call stage now also shows all participants even if they arent sharing any video but again this can be changed instead youll see their name and another new feature a custom background image so you can more easily tell everyone apart additionally the call stage is now rendered so that participants are evenly distributed on the screen instead of having someone show up by themselves in one row for examplecalling experienceanother key improvement skype is making to the calling experience is performance microsofts blog post claims that the skype team is promising up to 30 better performance in key scenarios on desktop and over 2000 you read that right improvement on android this should make video calls smoother for everyone involvedother calling featurescalls are also getting a bunch of other new features starting with the twincam this helps users to stream the video feed from two cameras simultaneously this works by allowing users to scan a qr code on their pc using their phone which can then be used as a second camera for the callboth cameras will remain active so participants can more easily show off whats happening around them such as pets or kids playing in the roomtheres a new skype universal translator feature call and chat translation isnt completely new but now not only will it work in skypetoskype calls you can also use it in skypetophone calls even if youre calling a landline phone you can use the automatic translation feature in realtimedesignskype is getting design changes all around along with these calling improvements there are new icons across the app and some buttons are now coloured and make use of subtle gradients the app is also getting new themes that apply not just to chats but also to the different buttons across the app users without profile pictures will also now have differentlycoloured images featuring their initials instead of having blue letters on a flat coloured backgroundmicrosoft is also improving the meet now experience which allows skype users to invite anyone even nonskype users to join a quick meeting the meet now lobby is going to be lighter faster and have an improved design people you invite to a meeting can now see a preview of the meeting