Skype has updated its Android app to tackle the problem many users have experienced – the application has been killing their battery like it’s nobody’s business. No more, Skype 4.7 for Android fixes this bug, though it comes with a caveat. To make this happen, the Skype team had to temporarily turn off instant notification of messages in group chats. In the near future, this too will be addressed and in the meantime – if you badly need these notifications, you can turn them on from “Settings” -> “Notifications” and then check the “Sync group messages in the background” box.
In addition, the updated Skype app also includes the following fixes:
- Workaround for the KitKat bug which caused a runaway process when the camera was synced in the background.
- Fix for audio and video calling on tablets that do not have Bluetooth.
- Your Windows Live Messenger contacts will now be listed in the Skype (default) view, not just the All contacts view.
Skype remains the free app and if for some reason you still don’t have it running on your Android smartphone or tablet, you can grab it from the link below.
Skype (FREE) [Google Play Store]