Yesterday, we reported on a Microsoft presentation in which it recently committed to launching its first public preview of Skype for Business for Mac "real soon now". Today - perhaps even sooner than some had expected - the company officially announced details of the new preview.
Skype for Business for Mac will eventually replace the ageing Lync for Mac 2011 client that OS X users have been forced to endure, long after Microsoft ditched Lync in favor of Skype for Business on other platforms.
As previously reported, there are four milestones on the road to its final release:
Preview phase one—Once you sign in, you’ll see your meetings for today and tomorrow, based on your Outlook calendar, displayed in the Skype for Business client.
Join any meeting with just one click and enjoy full screen video, content viewing, in-meeting chat and the ability to invite others to the meeting.
Preview phase two—We’ll be adding instant messaging, presence and contacts in the next preview release coming in early summer. You can continue to use Lync for Mac 2011 side-by-side with Skype for Mac Preview, giving you continued access to messaging and voice features.
Preview phase three—We will add telephony and related features later in the summer.
The fourth and final phase will be the release of the new client, which is expected to happen in the third quarter of this year.
The first preview phase has now begun, and Microsoft is allowing commercial customers to register for an invite to test Skype for Business for Mac over on SkypePreview.com. The company says that it will "start by issuing invites to IT administrators to download the client and gradually expand the preview to everyone in the coming weeks."
For now, you can find out more about the Skype for Business for Mac Public Preview in the video below:
Source: Office Blogs (Microsoft)
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