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Skype for Business Blog
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Skype for Business desktop app on Mac to replace Skype Meetings App (web)

Phillip Garding's avatar
Phillip Garding
Iron Contributor
Mar 05, 2019

In October, 2018, we announced a plan to offer the Skype for Business desktop app on Mac as our web-downloadable meetings client instead of Skype Meetings App, starting in December.  Due to  feedback from customers, we decided to postpone the change.  Everything is now in place, and we will make the transition on April 5!

 

(The Skype Meetings App, or SMA for short, is a web-downloadable meetings app for use when a Skype for Business desktop app is not installed on a computer.  SMA is available for meetings hosted on SfB Online or on SfB 2015 Server that is configured to use the online Microsoft Content Delivery Network (CDN).)

 

In order to provide the best and most stable meeting experience on Mac, we will provide the Skype for Business desktop app for all users.  Starting in April, the joining web pages will only offer SfB desktop app for download.

 

How would you like to join your meeting? web page
The desktop app brings many advantages over SMA: Screen sharing, audio, and video are significantly more reliable.  The meeting experience is built around a larger and more immersive display of video and shared content.  Screen sharing from the Mac uses Video-based Screen Sharing (VbSS), which is faster and more reliable than Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) used by SMA.  The app has also been optimized to work well with macOS 10.14 (Mojave), including Dark Mode.

 

We are also making two changes to the desktop app in companion with this change:

 

First, we are reducing the size of the desktop app installer.  The desktop app is larger than SMA, so the download takes 5-10 seconds longer on average.  This timing is also dependent on your network connection.

 

Second, we are adding support in the desktop app for uploading and downloading attachments in meetings, a feature that is available in SMA.  The desktop app does not support whiteboard, polls, and Q&A.   For a full comparison of Skype for Business for Mac and Skype Meetings App features, see the Supported Meetings Features table in Plan for Meetings clients (Web App and Meetings App).

 

We are excited to bring these improvements to our Mac users, and we look forward to your continued feedback on Skype for Business!

Updated Feb 28, 2019
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17 Comments

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  • Phillip Garding's avatar
    Phillip Garding
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 05, 2019

    ph_ly - Our target for the download size is to be at 40 MB or less.  The SfB desktop app installer is currently about 47MB.  Our approach will be to defer the download of some resources so that they are not included in the app installer itself, but will be downloaded later as needed.  This will have no or minimal impact to the user.  One example is to use a streamlined Microsoft Auto Update (MAU) component that doesn't include signatures of all apps when installed, but will download the signatures later when MAU does it's check for software updates.  We are still evaluating different options for what resources can be delayed, and we will give more information when we are closer to releasing those changes.

  • ph_ly's avatar
    ph_ly
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 05, 2019

    Phillip Garding I went through the current installation experience on the Mac platform with a standard user, and was prompted for admin rights.  I thought this requirement was already removed?

     

    For others' benefit, here are the steps needed to install Skype for Business on Mac (12 clicks, versus 6 with the Meetings App).

    1. Click the link to download the file. (downloading direct because the new experience is not yet available)

    2. Open your Downloads (varies depending on browser) and locate the Skype package, and run it.

    3. At the Skype for Business Installer screen, click Continue.

    4. At the Software License Terms screen, click Continue.

    5. At the Agree to the Terms screen, click Agree.

    6. At the "This will take 115 MB of space" screen, click Install.

    7. Prompt for admin rights. Enter administrative credentials and click Install Software.

    8. At the "Installer" wants access to control "System Events" screen, click OK.

    9. At the "Installation was successful" screen, click Close.

    10. At the "Do you want to move the "Skype for Business" installer to the Trash screen, click "Move to Trash".

    The software automatically launches Microsoft AutoUpdate.

    11. (If Auto-Update is launched), click Install to install the latest update.

    12. Click the link for the Skype for Business meeting again (again, can't quite test this experience yet).

    13. After the software launches, type your name and click Join as Guest.

    14. If prompted for microphone access, click OK.

  • ph_ly's avatar
    ph_ly
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 05, 2019

    Phillip Garding 

     

    Thanks for the quick response.  Can you provide an estimate for the reduction in size of the installer from the current 45MB?  We are going to have to do some tests and run through the experience, in order to properly educate our users on external guest expectations compared to other platforms.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Phillip Garding's avatar
    Phillip Garding
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 05, 2019

    Christophe Humbert - We are not deprecating Skype for Business.  On the Mac platform, we have decided to replace the previous web-downloadable app with the desktop app.  Both apps offer the ability for someone without a Skype for Business account in your organization to join a meeting, but the desktop app has better reliability and a superior meeting experience.

     

    ph_ly  - We will have Insider builds of the desktop app with attachments and reduced size available in mid-March.

  • ph_ly's avatar
    ph_ly
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 05, 2019

    When will the changes mentioned to the app (such as download size, attachments) be available for testing? 

  • Christophe Humbert's avatar
    Christophe Humbert
    Iron Contributor
    Mar 05, 2019

    Hello Guys

     

    It is great to see some improvements here but confusing as you are pushing Teams and deprecating Skype???

     

    Best regards