Back in September, Microsoft detailed its plans for the rollout of Skype version 8, which will supersede the classic version despite the initial backlash against the decision. The company said it would be employing a staged rollout starting at the beginning of November, and now that the time is here, the rollout has begun.

Skype's Peter Skillman shared the news on Twitter and detailed all the changes that have been made to Skype v8 leading up to this release. The team has delivered on many of the promises made in September, with the following improvements now being implemented:

Show Skype version on the sign-in screen

Setting for a secondary ringing device

Advanced webcam settings

Separate Skype volume control for Mac

Setting for incoming call notifications for Do Not Disturb mode

Mute and remove participants in a group call

Find within the current conversation

Setting to change text size on desktop

Global conversation and people search shows more than 20 results

Setting to customize 'Enter' or 'Return' to send a message or add a line

Save-as for audio files like mp3

Hide conversations from chat list

Setting to disable link previews

Setting to open links in an external browser (mobile)

Drag and drop for file sharing

Setting for allowing Skype to Skype calls only from contacts

Improved availability status on desktop (idle state detection logic)

Add and edit phone numbers as contacts

Split window view (only in the Windows 10 version for now)

Fixed copy-paste to dialpad (only in the Windows 10 version for now)

That's a lot of improvements, but Microsoft hasn't yet brought over all the changes it promised. This includes the changes to online states which were also announced in September, as well as a few other improvements such as a system tray icon for the Windows 10 app, the ability to share an app or window rather than the full screen, and more.

The new version of Skype will continue rolling out gradually over the coming weeks and months, though it's still not known when it will be enforced for all users. Recently, Microsoft also launched a preview version of Skype for Web which looks and feels a lot like Skype v8.

Source: Peter Skillman (Twitter)