Skype For Windows 8 Is Way Ahead Of iPad Version Design-Wise
Look! Skype managed to make a non-hideous version of its app. — Say what you like about Windows 8, but Microsoft seems to have knocked developers into line when it comes to interface design.
Context & Ripple Effects
Skype's tablet story until now has been an iOS one: the company shipped its iPad-optimized app in August 2011 and little has changed since. This week reviewers across Engadget, The Verge, Neowin and at least five other outlets converge on the same verdict — the new Windows 8 client is the better-looking app, and they credit Microsoft's Metro design discipline for dragging Skype's interface out of its old skin.
The timing matters for Microsoft: with the Surface tablet unveiled in June and SkyDrive apps refreshed just days before this piece, Redmond is assembling launch-window proof that its new design language produces genuinely good third-party software — and Skype, which Microsoft owns, is the most visible exhibit yet.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gets a flagship showcase for Windows 8's design system in the run-up to launch, from a developer it controls — useful ammunition against the 'Metro is only good for Microsoft's own apps' critique.
- Skype's own iPad client is now publicly the laggard in its portfolio, an awkward position for an app whose largest installed base sits on Apple hardware.
Second-order effects
- Apple-side pressure builds on Skype to bring its iOS and Android clients up to the standard its Windows 8 app just set, since reviewers will keep comparing them.
- Other Windows 8 developers now have a benchmark: a major cross-platform app judged best-in-class on Microsoft's terms raises the bar for what the Store's design certification can demand.
Third-order effects
- If platform-enforced design languages keep producing visibly superior apps, OS vendors gain a new lever over third-party software quality — aesthetics shifting from developer preference toward a distribution requirement, a pattern worth watching as Windows RT machines reach buyers.
The trend: Platform owners are using enforced design languages as ecosystem differentiation, with first-party-owned apps like Skype serving as the proof cases.