Introducing the new Skype for Mac, now available in Beta
It’s out of beta – read about the latest version!
It was worth the wait – the new Skype 5.0 is now available for Mac today in beta, introducing a revamped look and feel that simplifies navigation and provides a more Mac-like experience. For example, the Skype app has been brought together in one window for ease-of-use, and the Mac address book has been integrated, making it possible for you to call, IM and SMS your contacts when they are online or offline.
The new Skype for Mac also offers our popular new feature – group video calling – which allows you to make video calls with more than two people at a time as long as all participants are on the new Mac beta or Skype for Windows 5.0. Group video calling brings people together like never before, allowing you to do more things together with your friends, family and colleagues whenever you are apart.
The new Skype for Mac also includes the following new features:
- New call control bar — Hang up, mute and more from a mini Skype toolbar that sits on top of any web pages, documents or photos you’ve got open
- Search chat content to easily navigate past conversations
- Offline IM so that you can send and receive instant messages even if the recipient is offline
- Personalise contacts via user profiles
- Quickly rejoin calls if your Internet connection fails momentarily
- Floating Contacts Monitor to see your online contacts and contact groups
Try out the new Skype for Mac in beta and tell us what you think using the Skype > Provide Skype Feedback menu item. And stay posted as we roll out the official version soon.
Three issues in order of importance:
1) Let me resize fonts.
2) Let me resize the window smaller than current minimum
3) Let me disable icons in chat
What bothers me is that it still triggers the nVidia graphics card when using the Intel one would be sufficient. Wouldn’t be a problem on a desktop, but on a notebook I want my battery to last as long as possible.
I’m using an mid-2010 MBP.
———————————-
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New UI is way HUGE, not good, not mac-like at all. You really need a good Mac UI person.
the new skype for mac really needs a compact view, it is taking over my whole screen
1) Make the new design more customizable:
a) It is now ugly huge — good for old people, but could u make it possible to “scale” contacts appearance, etc.?
b) Return the possibility to sort groups by drag-and-drop, pls.
c) Make detachable conversations for different people.
d) Add the possibility to insert custom avatars, custom growl notifications for particular contacts/groups.
2) Return the ease of screen sharing, pls.
3) The detachable Contacts pad is very nice due to its transparency, but stays on top of other windows. Make it a regular window, pls, so it is not necessary to press cmd+h all the time.
In general, increase the “user-friendliness”, please.
I’ve been waiting for this update for a LONG time, but to be honest after installing it I am in mixed reviews. I sure hope Skype Developpers read this and consider making some changes:
In Skype 2.8 we had a very easy way to see all of our contacts that were online/offline. In 5.0 this task has become a painful process. The contact list is HUGE, we should have the option to reduce the font size or something as not everyone is blind. But literally on my 13″ when opened full screen I get to display 8 contacts at the time. Not worth the hassle to go down all the time. However, I understand that the search feature is extremely useful and allows us to send message even when the contact is off-line. But we could also do that in 2.8 to an extend.
Also what happened to screen sharing?
The contact bar should made hide-able and perhaps have a shortcuts to jump between conversations.
Please oh please ! I’m begging you to go back to previous design ! This is HORRIBLE ! I never sweared that much of my entire life. Each single new thing made me jump and make holes in the ceileing :
1 : All in one window : Horrible horrible horrible idea
2. Can’t separate windows : Super horrible
3. You’re on webcam and check an IM it hides the webcam (horrible horrible)
4. The size of the window : Omg horrible to maximum level ! I use many applications (ichat, yahoo, msn, skype at the same time, imagine if they were all that size) (NONE REDUCTIBLE !!! HORRIBLE
5. The button that is the full screen buttons is also used to send file and other stuff ! I mean could it be more none sense ?
6. The tiny transparent windows to get your friendlist in a special window : NO NO and NO !!!!!! Stop the bullshits please Did you hire the son of the boss and had to let him do stupidities or what ? is this a joke ?
7. Since i put the update i get random stupid bugs : history from random people coming slowly, tons of old conversation windows opened…
8. The apple like slideshow of your contacts : totally useless (it’s useless on itunes already so imagine on skype)
9. Please please please please please fix that horrible version. You don’t have to change everything to make it better :’(
10. The WHOLE design is wrong, i mean really the whole design, we don’t need to see these spaces “chat – audio – webcam” icon in front of each contact and it’s so big it looks like it’s a special upgrade for people that can’t see anything.
11. side bar with contacts = NO ! just the contact window like in the good old time :’(
12. previous and next window : it’s like going back in the past ! Can’t a computer process two windows anymore ? come on ! this is horrible ! you click on your profile and you can’t see anything else than your profile ! please please Stop the ONE WINDOW thing !
13. You can’t change account from the menu, you now have to go in the menu and choose “close session” and then select the new one !
I MEAN SERIOUSLY ! WHO DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO REMOVE ALL THE GREAT JOB AND REMPLACE IT WITH SUCH DISAPOINTING STUFF ?
I’m not an old dude, i’m a music producer, i’m 26, i have a mac since forever, this is not coming from an old 97 years old dude that can’t adapt himself to new stuff. This is anti friendly user to its maximum level, i was on the phone with my friend girlfriend and I was SO PISSED about the update i did that i couldn’t focus on anything else than complain about skype new features.
Why oh Why oh Why did you have to make it so big? Seriously bad, I am sure you have spent much time developing this but it is simply awful. No Facebook integration, Video iSight does not work, coverflow is ugly, the only reason I would want to use this would be for group video, however as the iSight on my 2009 MBP works perfectly with all other apps using it, I am reverting to 2.8, Sorry Skype for all your work on this version, it simply does not come up to scratch. The vast majority of comments here would seem to agree, back to the drawing board I am afraid, oh and why 5? what happened to 3 and 4?? If you could simple add group video to 2.8 I would be happy.
dreadful. So big it whites out my screen. Just rang my Mum and couldn’t hang up. Please take the advice on this blog and wind back to something minimalist and functional.
When is going to be released the Skype 5.0 for Linux. Linux communities are developing stable system once every 6 months. Are 3 years that you guys do not develop a proper working Skype for the Linux platform. I think you are making the big mistake to leave behing a promising market, since there are always more user than what you think.
At this stage I hope that google is going to smell the coffee with their google talk so we can all switch to them, since here I do not see gears moving unless you want tell us a sort of date when the skype 5.0 for linux will be released.
As almost everybody, I turned back in 5 minutes to 2.8 version.
Please give us a way to switch the layout to the older 2.8 style.
Not to sure if you morons posting know how to use a mac? there is a little thing called spaces… you can also minimize.
you should do what Techsmith (snagit) did, have a separate beta portion of your site and allow users to make specific recommendations. And do your best to incorporate them into the mac version. Techsmith did this and after 1 year of beta, they made a “perfect” screenshot capturing program. Mac users are willing to give you the feedback FOR FREE. As the developer, you have to take it and transform it into programmable features.
Overall the Beta is really good but I do have one major issue: I have downloaded the Mac beta on three Mac and have been attempting to set up a group call. After a number of attempts we were able to set up a three way call. The three way video lasted for about two minutes and then the video dropped. After trying various things (e.g. selecting and then de-selecting “send video”) we were able to get video back between two of the participants but were only able to get video between all three of us. We’ve tried various things to re-establish the call including restarting each of the Mac and checking the video preferences to ensure that video is set up and checking that the i-sight webcam indicator is green on all three machines). I suspect that there may be a bug in the Beta that is causing this.
The new UI sucks! I mean seriously, WTF! It looks worse than the Windows version (which sucks a lot). I loved the way the old Skype for Mac kept everything separate and minimalist. This is just obtrusive and ugly. Who wants the majority of their screen taken up with Skype. I like to have a small window open in the corner, not the focus of my screen.
But the group video calling is great! Please keep the old UI and just add group video chat.
I have been reviewing software for 20 years for a national radio show on technology — this has to be one of the worst software upgrades I have ever seen in all that time. Total indifference to the way your customers use the product and a UI so bad that I’m embarrassed (for the engineering team that created it) when I use it.
This product is so bad that if Skype tries to force me to use to this I will almost certainly move to another system. That’s really sad when you consider that I’ve been using this technology since early on; I call with it all day long and it’s my main contact number.
There’s no point in re-hashing everybody else’s complaints and protests; but one thing’s clear to me, 2.8 wasn’t perfect but I was able to get the job done efficiently, effectively and reliably. Now all of a sudden I can’t even figure out how to do put together even basic stuff without a lot of effort and research. I’m not ready to waste that kind of time and effort when the old UI did the job just fine.
Bottom line, please revert to the old UI and refine it — it wasn’t broken so please don’t fix it!
What ‘anamkhai’. +1
Hey devs, is this the most depressing and thumbs down release ever? Maybe a few mock up screen shots could have said you stacks of work. The look and feel is wrong, without even getting started on the functionality.
Like the new options – buy the Interface is a real problem. Can only agree with all who commented that this for me (as a long term, heavy user) is absolute unusable and unacceptable. Good that the interface at skype-start-time was not this confusing and unfriendly, else I would have never started on it !!
- almost impossible to find the most common functions, as adding users to confcalls or starting a confcall
- hard to navigate around
- too BIIIIGG navigation window, with IM unstructured and hard to locate things
- online contact list useless, if I cannot directly from there ‘call/im’ folks.
Dont line it !!! Pse return the old interface with the new functionality !!! pleaaassse !!!
WAY too BIG. Looks like an iPad app or something.
If I didn’t need the multiple video conference I’d switch back.
Please fix.
Why does videochat hide the IM’s How do I get back to them?
I downgraded to previous version. This GUI’s horrible.
First off @patrickriley2010, some of us “morons” like to actually work/read/play something and have a VIDEO CALL with someone at the same time. For example, I play video-games and have a VIDEO CALL with my girlfriend at the same time. With Skype 2.8, no problem, I have a big window with the game on the left, and a small window on the top right corner.
With Skype 5.0, impossible, besides that thing being ugly and big like a big fat walrus, occupying a lot of space, it doesn’t even have an always on top option…
That being said, that makes Spaces and minimizing USELESS! So think again before you post and call us “morons”
It look like itunes – way to huge! how much money you earned making it?
I would cut it in 70% LOL
I agree that while there are many interesting aspects — I love the idea of being able to leave messages to people who are offline or doing video chats with a number of people at once — the user interface takes up too much real estate on my desktop. I tend to work with others. I will be taking dictation from someone and they might send part of it in the chat window or I might be sending a part of it back for verification and perhaps I might share a part of my screen so they can watch what I am typing as I type it. Or… perhaps I might be talking with one person while typing with another and keeping track of something else on a web page… Something that takes up a third or more of my 13 inch MacBook just doesn’t work for me.
Now this is going slightly off topic or is it? It happened when I upgraded last night…
Coincidentally — and I don’t quite understand this — I downloaded the Mac Beta 5 version last night and when my Girlfriend tried calling my Online Number she could not get through. No busy signal, didn’t get forwarded to my voicemail, nothing. She’s in Auckland and I have an Auckland number. I called it from here in Canada and… it says the number can’t be connected as dialed. What’s up with that? I checked privacy and made sure things got set for anyone being able to call the number… but still no joy… Now I have even reinstalled 2.8 and nothing… I tried forwarding to my telelphone and calling with my Skype turned off taking the computer out of the equation and still no joy. So… did Beta 5 change things somehow at Skype? Or… did things get messy because of the US Thanksgiving holiday telephone rush? (I’m in Canada) Is it just a coincidence? This sort of thing happened once before around Christmas and New Years Eve, I think and also when I first got the number. The whole point for me was so that My Girl could call me from Auckland so that number is important… Did Beta 5 do something? Can’t see how. For now I am back to 2.8 and have written to Support. I hope things fix themselves and I hope it won’t take 48-72 hours to hear “something”. Sure wish a communications company could have a communications system for support.
Installed … Took half my macbook screen … deleted.
What an awful design, i just hope it will change.
I am disappointed for 2 reasons. Firstly the design is too big: fonts are big, lots of waisted screen real estate. I wish there was an option to switch to a compact view. Secondly, it uses 10% processor capacity continuously, even in plain standby. To me that looks like the beta code still needs to be optimised.
i have been using 5.0 since the beta and it is absolute unusable, rolled back to the previous version, whoever is in charge of the usability clearly has no clue!
Please bring back full screen video mode (video phone). Please shrink the UI down by about 2/3. This is awful. I’ve downgraded. This is not an improvement in any way.
Just tried out the Skype 5 beta for Mac and I must say its terrible. I’ts so friggin’ huge and I can’t see all my contacts right away (which is a bit of a contradiction) and the layout is terrible. Why do you want to change the current design? If you really have to change it, why don’t you make more like Adium? Could you please fire all your designer immediately. Thank You.
jesus! where are the facebook integration? is that really so hard and time consuming for you to put in – judging by the overall 5.0 beta, it’s clearly a yes. Makes me laugh and cry simultaneously.
What bothers me is that it still triggers the nVidia graphics card when using the Intel one would be sufficient. Wouldn’t be a problem on a desktop, but on a notebook I want my battery to last as long as possible.
I’m using an mid-2010 MBP
—————–
Another +1 for this… this is by far my biggest complaint with Skype right now.
Yes would be good if you can select classic view of panel
And can you please also make a video on how to do conference calls with this new BETA version, i.e. connect & disconnect a few people on the line via skype & landline numbers as well – thank you!
Well this was embarrassing, wasn’t it guys? You’ve spent all that time developing it and when it comes out the major feature is “Group video calls!!!” Woo-freaking-hoo. OK, it’s probably not a bad feature but why did the rest of the software have to suffer?
I dare you, I double dare you to write an explanation on how to use this contact list efficiently! Why do I have my chats on the right and contacts sorted chronologically (WTF!?) on the left? I don’t give a crap about whom I spoke to recently. Give me back my contact list. And no, I’m not going to screw around customizing groups, neither am I going to bring up that retarded floating menu.
Honestly, do you think that when people are making a call, even including video, they just sit and stare into the conversation window? At least I’m not. Then why in the name of rotten socks of Bill O’Reilly can’t I resize anything without it turning into crap?
By the way, funny detail. Did you run into some kind of copyright thing with Microsoft or something? How come all the status icons are from version 2 for Windows? Pale, boring and generally unappealing?
how can I make the font size smaller, please?!
I’ve used Skype from the time it was first launched. Version 5 is really disappointing from a design stand point. Its huge, obtrusive and annoying with no way to minimize it. If I wanted it to take up 1/4-/1/2 of my screen size I would have enlarged the other versions. Its hard to appreciate the new features when I am so annoyed with the size of the window. Fortunately I still have Ver 2.8 which I will use until the design team changes the size of the window of Version 5. What were you thinking?!
I have recently moved to Mac so I was used to the Windows Beta 5.0. I can cope with the interface. However this mac beta has a major bug as mentioned above by hologr4m. I managed to get to the im screen to send a skype text during a video call, but after sending the text, there is no way (that I found) to get back to video. Every call I tried after that I could only see the im page, no video. Had to uninstall and go back to 2.8. Suggest you fix that one skype (or explain why we can’t see both video and text on the same screen).
Dear Skype,
In my opinion, your new “Skype 5 Beta for Mac” is unfortunately a big step backwards from the “Skype 2.8″ you currently ship. I found it so frustrating that I had to actually uninstall it and go back to using Skype 2.8. This is one of the few times I’ve downgraded, despite a long history of being an early adopter of software.
While I noticed various sharp edges and bugs (to be expected for a beta), I couldn’t get past the overwhelming issue of its size. Skype 2.8 is slim, unobtrusive, and easy to have “always running”. In contrast, Skype 5 is like more like iTunes or Microsoft Excel, with a visual footprint that dominates the screen.
I’m sure this change was well-intentioned, but I think you’ve missed the mark. From the hundreds of similar comments on this blog, a staggering percentage of your existing users feel the same.
Please revisit your design for Skype 5. Challenge the app designers about the size. How is the experience “better” by taking up so much space? When Skype is running, should you be forced to be aware of it, like your front-most application? Even when it’s in use (through an active call or chat session), how much of the user’s attention do you need?
I suggest that the easier you make it to keep Skype running constantly, whether at idle or even in active use (on call, or chatting), the more people will find it friendly to use. The more of their attention you demand with your user interface, the less pleasant it becomes to have it up.
P.S. I searched all over your site for a more “official” way of giving you feedback. Maybe it’s there, but I couldn’t find it. As a satisfied user (of Skype 2.8) and customer, I wish it was easier to give you feedback and be confident that someone there might read it.
Best regards. Hoping you make Skype 5 amazing!
Sorry, I love Skype but I hate the new 5.0 Look! It is too big and ugly. The old mac version was so pretty looking. Please give us the old design back.
Thanks for your work.
Thomas Wawer, Germany
Sorry, but I can’t stand it. Although there are a few pluses in the new design, they are greatly overshadowed but the minuses. After a week of having it, I still can’t figure the half of it out. It is more than just the obtrusive size:
The keypad does not automatically open when you punch keys. …….I can’t easily tell if I have messages or if a message has been sent….Tonight I had a couple of “red” numbers….never did find if there was a message, but the numbers are now gone. Argh. I can no longer erase CHAT MESSAGES, but still keep CALL HISTORY. Soundwise, there is now a lot of interference and problems with folks hearing me now.
ON the plus side, there IS one thing that I like and that is that the SHARE SCREEN command is now right there at one’s fingertips.
So sorry, but after a week of having it installed, I too, will go back to the older version.
THANKS for trying…but NO THANKS.
I can’t find anywhere to post a question so here goes.
I keep getting a “Disk Full” notice when I try to sign in. If I turn off the computer and turn it on again it’s fine — for a while. Then the same notice again. I have cleared my History and I have set it up for not saving any History. How do I either clear whatever it is it is saving or get rid of the notice?
Please, PLEASE add the “take a snapshot” feature to the new mac version. I would love to be able to take random snaps while in video calls like my lovely friends with the windows version do all the time. Thanks!
Horrible, horrible design..why so big?
Just switched back to 2.8
I was so excited about the 5.0 version for Macs and now I am so disappointed!
I guess Skype was developed on a 27” iMac judging from its size.
How would I describe the 5.0 version for Macs? Bulky, chaotic and useless.
How would I describe the 5.0 version for Windows? Awesome, convenient and MINE!
Mac Version: Where’s Facebook? Where’s Bonjour? The button for a separate window of your online contact should always be available. As soon as I scroll down it’s gone. You should be able to minimize recent activity. The other day I chatted with a friend and now I have my a really long list of recent activities. It shows me her icon 19!!! times, although it was the same person and the chat was on the same day?!?!)
Now here’s what I like about the new version:
I like the design, it looks very fancy It’s now very easy to add contacts (to conversations), create groups, send files, send contacts, and call or text someone.
Atrocious! Will not use Skype 5 for Mac in this state. I’m sticking with Skype 2.8. As soon as you stop supporting that, I’m gone so fast.
What were your designers thinking?
I agree with the most comments here, I give’d the beta a chance, but I went back to 2.8 release.
A classic, tragic case of bad UI design, brought about, sadly it seems, by simply not consulting with users. This is the way Microsoft designs software, and I really expected more from Skype. The problem, I believe, stems from a complete misapprehension of how people use Skype and the nature of the software itself. This ‘upgrade’ appears to take the view that Skype is fundamentally an ‘Application’ – a foreground activity; whereas in reality, for the vast majority of users it behaves more like a system service – listening for incoming messages, as well as being able to initiate them. And the golden rule for services: the less obtrusive, the better.
Skype appears to believe that Skype can function in a similar way to Mail, given the UI choices they have made with this beta. But to my mind even most mail clients (including Apple Mail) are larger than they need to be, which is why I rely on web-based mail and menu-bar notifiers. So how they can justify the one-window approach for IM, voice and video is unfathomable to me. Really, how much screen estate do you need to focus on an IM, voice, or even video conversation? Most people I know manage with a small window tucked away in a corner, whilst pottering away with something else. Yes, if you want a full person-to-person experience, you can full-screen it, and 2.8 does that well.
This ‘upgrade’ downgrades the entire Skype experience, and I won’t be using it.
Wow, this is not good at all. Tried it for two weeks and still cant get used to it. Either a very very very early BETA or; Dear Skype Team, back to the drawing boards my friends. You can do muuuch better than this.
Going back to MAC osx version 2.8
PS : build it like your on an ipad in horizontal view.
I’ve tried it for weeks now and I think it’s horrible:
- I don’t like the design from a usability standpoint
- I haven’t figured out how to go full screen
- Somehow the address book integration is broken since it doesn’t find many of the phone numbers.
I’ll go back to the previous released version and keep my fingers crossed that this will be better in upcoming releases.
-B
Please reconsider the UI design. The current version of Skype for Mac is simple, minimal, and elegant. The UI of the beta version is a colossal waste of space.
OK the design sucks – and is confusing as well, but I could live with that (and actually like the list of contacts sorted by recent activity). However the deal breaker is that some of the phone numbers are wrong. For example for my wife Skype offers the choice of an unknown number (where a man answers) or an old number in a different country – all her numbers are listed in the Address book, but Skype does not load them.
I can’t understand what is going on here – the old version read my address book contacts perfectly, where is the new Skype getting its phone numbers from?
I now have to copy and paste from Address book into the dialler – you can imagine how impressed that makes me.
Maybe I will try Viber – I hear its pretty good.