Micosoft's new Skype for Web no longer supports ChromeOS or Linux

Microsoft announced a slick new Skype for Web yesterday,integrating most of the features it had brought to the desktop over the past year. In what seems to be a puzzling omission, the web app no longer supports Chrome OS or Linux. That is to say, users aren’t simply prevented from using the new web skype interface, they are disallowed from using Skype for the web, period.

Microsoft in 2015 brought Slype to Chrome OS and Linux when it first started its Skype for Web experiment. It launched first on Windows and macOS then came 10 days later to the two smaller platforms. Perhaps the Skype team simply haven’t gotten round to it as it works on ensuring the current web app is stable and reliable on Windows and macOS first.

That said, it’s not like Linux and Chromebook users are without recourse. Skype has a native Linux app that can be installed, and Chromebook users are redirected to the Google Play Store to use the Android Skype app instead.

For now, though, the web is off-limits.