Skype has announced some much-needed improvements that aim to fix bugs, add new features and improve the overall experience on different platforms.

Although Skype is one of the most popular VoIP services currently available, users have been experiencing a slew of issues, especially when using multiple platforms. Issues range from inconsistent "read" statuses to delayed or undelivered messages, inconsistency between platforms, troubles logging in, and more.

Skype had pledged to work on these issues and provide updates, and now the company has started to make good on its promise. The latest update will come particularly in handy for those who use the service on multiple devices, as Skype chats will allegedly sync properly across all Skype-enabled devices from now on.

Other improvements mainly refer to performance and include better battery life, as well as faster startup and resume times. For mobile devices, Skype will now work faster in the background.

"We know that as users have started using Skype on multiple devices, they've had difficulty keeping conversations in sync, or they've missed messages and seen 'read' messages on one device that are still marked as 'unread' on another. We've been working hard to solve these issues while adding other experiences to make an improved Skype chat," reads a blog post on Friday, Feb. 14, announcing the improvements.

"Now, push notifications make sure you know when you have a new message in chat, and Skype chats are synced across all of your Skype-enabled devices."

In addition to these improvements, Skype is also working on a bunch of new enhancements and features that will roll out in the coming months. Such enhancements will include the previously-promised feature to only display notifications on the device you are currently using. For instance, if you're sitting at your computer and using Skype, but you also have the app open on your smartphone or tablet, Skype will only display notifications on your computer, as that's the device you're actively using. Moreover, your "Favorites" contact list will also sync across all of your Skype-enabled devices.

The latest version of Skype is already available for download for all of your devices, and should bring some notable improvements that are long overdue. While this announcement sounds exciting, however, it remains to be seen whether the update will actually fix things with cross-platform syncing and other issues.