Amazon’s Echo devices will soon be getting a major new integration: Skype. Microsoft only today launched a new Alexa Skill for the Xbox One that allows users to control their game console with their voice via Alexa-powered devices, and the Skype support will likely work in a similar way.
WalkingCat has posted multiple videos of Skype working on an Amazon Echo and an Echo Show, showing how you will be able to make calls via the personal assistant. The feature has already been announced by Amazon in September when the company launched the second-generation Echo Show, and now that it has a promo video, the launch shouldn’t be far away.
The launch of Skype on Amazon’s Echo devices and other Alexa-powered devices could be huge for Microsoft. If support for the service is integrated right into Alexa instead of an Alexa Skill, it could help Skype reach a lot of customers. Of course, even as an Alexa Skill, the integration should be very helpful to Echo Show users who were only limited to Amazon’s Drop In feature before for calls.
The only problem here, of course, is that regular consumers don’t really make use of Skype that much anymore, moving away from what was once the top communication app to modern services like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, FaceTime, etc. Still, if you have a device like the Echo Show, the ability to make video calls from the device will be incredibly useful.
