Skype for Business for Windows Phone Quietly Arrives

A little while ago an update was seeded to Lync 2013 users on Windows Phone which let us know that Skype for Business was on its way. Today that rollout has taken place, at least for me, with the latest version being delivered to my devices overnight. It’s always nice to wake up to new software. It’s been delivered as an in-place upgrade for Lync 2013 for Windows Phone.

So far it’s just Windows Phone which has received this update (or Windows 10 Mobile if you’re using it). Android and iPhone should be coming soon.

For the most part, the update is much the same as the desktop side of things – a point release which modifies the skin of the application to include the Skype branding, polish a few UI elements and that’s about it. In addition, this version will encrypt local data at rest, and if you have a Skype for Business Server in the backend, you’ll start to enjoy auto-synchronization of conversation history and auto-accepting of IMs if you miss the initial banner. So no more searching for a message you could have sworn you saw come in.

From the Microsoft post:

If your organization is using Skype for Business Server 2015, you’ll see better integration between Skype for Business for Windows Phone and your other devices, and the ability to communicate with users of the commercial version of Skype.

Windows phone conversation sync Your recent conversations are now automatically synchronized across devices. You can see all your conversations, regardless of whether they took place on your desktop or mobile device. This allows you to continue a recent conversation or respond to missed IMs—wherever you are.
Improved IM reliability When you receive an IM on your mobile device, it’s automatically accepted even if you miss the alert.
Communicate with Skype contacts If you have Skype users in your contact list, you can communicate with them via IM, audio call, or video call.

And now for some gratuitous screenshots: