Microsoft updates Skype Preview for Windows 10 Insiders with dark theme, chatbots, real-time translation

Microsoft today announced that it has released a new version of the Skype Preview app for people participating in the Windows Insider Program. This doesn’t replace the standard Skype Windows app — it’s just the latest version of a rethinking of Skype that works across all Windows 10 devices as a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app.

The new version comes with several improvements, including the ability to share your screen, send files, talk with chatbots, and get real-time translation of voice and video calls as well as instant messages.

The most visible change, though, is the app’s appearance. There’s now a dark theme, which is on by default when you update the app from the Store. To run this version of the app, you’ll need Windows 10 build 10139 or later.

Skype Translator preview has been a separate app. A select list of Skype bots have appeared in the regular Skype app for Windows as well as Mac and the web.

The desktop Skype Preview refresh isn’t the only Skype news of the day. The Skype Preview app is now available for Windows 10 Mobile for those in the Windows Insider Program, and new features will be coming to “later this summer,” the Skype team said in a blog post. One of the additions, SMS relay, will aggregate SMS and Skype messaging, alongside group chat and photos, the Skype team said.

If you want to take a test drive of the new Skype Preview app but you’re not a Windows Insider, you can sign up here.