Microsoft Edge to natively support Skype voice and video calls by the end of this year

Microsoft added support for ObjectRTC with Windows 10 Build 10547 just yesterday. The company also announced that Skype for Web will be bringing native support for voice and video calls in Microsoft Edge. The company states that with the new ORTC API preview for Microsoft Edge, the Skype web app will now be able to allow users to call others using Microsoft Edge — without even having to install a plug-in or extension. Talking about ObjectRTC support on Edge, the Skype team states:

We’re thrilled about the exciting scenarios that ORTC APIs enable and we are proud to be one of the first to use these ORTC APIs in the Edge Browser.  The ORTC APIs will enable us to develop advanced real-time communications scenarios – like group video calls with participants all on different browsers and operating systems – using features like Simulcast and Scalable Video Coding (SVC), all while preserving the ability to easily interop with existing telephony networks.

Unfortunately though, the feature isn’t available for Skype for Web just yet. Microsoft promises that the company will roll out the feature by the end of this year, so expect it to arrive sometime on January as Skype is usually late on release new features. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that the feature will also be available on Skype for Outlook.com later this year.