Windows 11 Won’t Force You To Install Skype Anymore

Windows 11 Won’t Force You To Install Skype Anymore

Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 11 overnight. And while the focus was on the new stuff, a few things are being removed — including Skype.

What ever happened to Skype?

Remember Skype? Initially released in 2003, it was once the king of video calls. From chatting with friends to work calls, it was the place to be.

But it eventually fell out of favour for other daily communication platforms. Once Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, its subsequent attempt to modernise always seemed too little too late.

The company redesigned the Skype app many, many times to compete with the likes of WhatsApp, Messenger, FaceTime and Telegram.

In 2017 a Snapchat-like highlights feature was even added, but then quickly removed the following year.

And in its near-constant attempts at makeovers, reports of calls quality dropping began to rise.

And while COVID-19 seemed like the perfect time for it to make a comeback… it didn’t Instead, it lost out to Zoom, a platform barely anyone had even heard of pre-pandemic.

And this is perhaps because it simply worked — in the same way Skype used to. The ease of use of Zoom saw millions flocking to it, despite security issues, as the world quickly had to learn to work and study from home.

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It won’t be pre-installed on Windows 11

Now things have been taken a step further — Microsoft has stated that Skype won’t come pre-installed on Windows 11. However, it will still be available for download if you’re still a die-hard fan.

“The following apps will not be removed on upgrade but will no longer be installed on new devices or when clean-installing Windows 11. They are available for download from the Store,” Microsoft said.

In addition to Skype, the list also includes 3D Viewer, OneNote For Windows 10 and Paint 3D.

To be honest, this isn’t particularly surprising. Earlier this year Microsoft announced that Skype For Business was being shut down on July 31.

Instead, it’s pushing customers to its real Zoom competitor, Teams.

Still, while though Skype isn’t dead yet, this feels like a pretty big step towards the end of an era.


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