This means you can finally call, SMS, or IM contacts without first having to go through the process of adding them to your Skype contact list. For the first time, Skype 5.0 for Mac lets you turn on full integration with Mac OS X’s Address Book from the preferences.

It’s a fairly minimal interface that feels all right (but not great) on the Mac.Ī left sidebar contains contacts, groups, and a Recent list that displays the contacts you correspond with the most frequently. Skype for Mac has shed the narrow-windowed “contact list” appearance-a staple of virtually every chat app on the market-in favor of an almost e-mail client approach. The first thing you’ll probably notice about the beta of Skype 5.0 for Mac is its interface: it looks absolutely nothing like its predecessor, and entirely like its Windows counterpart, which got the 5.0 treatment in mid-October. Macworld spoke with Aziza Johnson, Vice President at Kaplow, Skype’s PR agency, about what the update means for Skype’s commitment to the Mac.

The new version brings Skype much more in line with its Windows counterpart in both features and interface. Skype on Thursday announced a public beta for its Mac client, with an upgrade so significant that it leapt past two full version numbers. No, you don’t have to adjust your displays, you’re reading that right.

Skype for business mac for 10.5.8