Skype for iPhone adds voice message playback support, offers extended profile view

Microsoft is rolling out Skype for iPhone 5.2, the second significant update to its iPhone client since version 5 was released less than a month ago.

It seems Microsoft has been stung by the negative reaction to the redesigned Skype, and version 5.2 is quick to add another three new features in response to user feedback.

Version 5.2 adds support for voice messages to the app -- when a contact leaves a voice message it now appears within the conversation thread. Simply tap play to listen to the message.

Users also gain access to extended profiles by tapping on any contact in their list and choosing Profile from the … menu. Information shown now includes mood message, Skype name, birthday and location.

The extended profile is also accessible when tapping a person’s name in the header during a one-to-one conversation.

Finally, version 5.2 makes it easy to bring new people into an existing one-to-one or group conversation. Simply tap … in the bottom right corner to access the new Add participants option.

The three new features build on others that were added when Skype quickly rolled out version 5.1 last month. These included the ability to delete conversations and edit messages from the Recent list with a long press, a new Add Favorites link and tweaking of the People list view filters to more closely match the desktop versions of Skype.

Skype for iPhone 5.2 is available free now for iPhones and iPod touches running iOS 7 or later. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the recent feedback, Microsoft has yet to roll out the design updates to its iPad app, so Skype for iPad 4.17.3 remains the latest version for Apple tablet users.