The latest Microsoft Edge update might be the most puzzling yet

Microsoft is testing an update for Edge that can introduce a brand new Skype integration to the web browser.In the latest early entry construct, accessible to members of the Edge Insider program, customers can instantly launch right into a Skype video name utilizing the “Meet now” button positioned subsequent to the handle bar.

Clicking the button will open a pop-up panel that lets customers identify their assembly, create a {link} that others can use to dial in, and be a part of a separate assembly utilizing a {link} supplied by another person.

An sudden alliance

To the untrained eye, it could appear unremarkable that Microsoft is transferring to mix collectively Edge and Skype, which it bought in 2011 for a whopping $8.5 billion. But in the context of the meteoric rise of Microsoft Teams, the latest Edge update seems unusual certainly.Since the begin of the pandemic and transition to distant working, Microsoft Teams has emerged as the firm’s flagship communication platform. The latest knowledge suggests the service now boasts greater than 270 million month-to-month energetic customers.Not solely has Microsoft delivered a continuing stream of characteristic updates for Teams, however the platform has additionally been constructed into the coronary heart of the firm’s new Windows 11 working system, with a Teams icon affixed completely to the taskbar. In years passed by, it was Skype that was put in by default on the Windows platform.Given this state of affairs, and the closure of Skype for Business in 2021, the widespread assumption was that Microsoft would proceed to speculate fewer and fewer assets into the Skype model transferring ahead. In flip, all the indicators counsel the firm will try and push Teams additional into the client market.However, the latest early-access Edge construct suggests there may be life in Skype yet. Whether the update is a sign of a deliberate marketing campaign to revive the older platform, or just an try and service the remaining pool of customers, will turn into clear with time.Via Windows Central