Skype Android app gets an update for Android Wear support

Skype’s latest Android update has made it Android Wear ready so you can now interact with your smartwatch to do most things with Skype, except of course talking into the watch.

Skype for Android version 6.4 includes an expanded ability to read the latest messages and missed calls, which was previously done through notification bar mirroring.

Users will be able to reply to messages by speaking into their smartwatch with voice-to-text support, or choose from pre-written responses if they’re in a hurry. To reply with a Skype Moji, users can just draw a simple picture on the watch’s screen with their finger, and Skype will recognize which emoji it corresponds to. Also new is the ability to accept and decline calls in the same way as standard telephone calls with a swipe to the watch face.

It’s certainly a long overdue update for Skype, and comes as Android wearables start to pick up wider adoption in the mainstream.

Android Wear users will perhaps feel a little hard done by, as Microsoft added Skype support for the Apple Watch way back at the end of April. However, your watch can continue to be used to mute and end calls, as well as to switch to another.