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Microsoft apps doing better than ever on Android

Nick Parker, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of its OEM division announced that 74 hardware partners now include its apps with their products in a company blog post yesterday. These devices are sold in 25 countries worldwide and feature a standard configuration of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype — the same line-up of apps that new Windows 10 mobile devices arrive with.
It isn’t just small manufacturers that are working with Microsoft as some of the biggest Android OEMs are on board. Samsung has been working with the company since early 2015, bundling the package of Microsoft software with its flagship Galaxy S6 handset. Office also made its way onto Sony’s Xperia Z4 and the LG G Pad 2 as well as numerous other devices from Microsoft’s many hardware partners.
The companies license the apps from Microsoft, paying it to let Office, Skype, OneDrive and others come pre-installed on their phone. In return, Microsoft gets revenue that offsets the free cost of the apps and also the prospect of millions of new users for one of its most successful product lines.
Yesterday, another big name publicly announced that its 2016 devices will come preloaded with Microsoft software. Acer will be bundling the full Office suite with an unspecified number of new phones and tablets from later this year, another major success for Microsoft.
Under Satya Nadella, the company has moved to make all its core software products available on every platform. You no longer need to use Windows to use Microsoft’s productivity software as all its major apps can be found on Android and iOS too.
Windows fans may be dismayed to see previous exclusives disappear off to rival platforms but the strategy is paying off for Microsoft. Users and manufacturers appear to be embracing the wider availability of its apps and the company recently celebrated 900 million Skype users across Android and iOS.
Microsoft wrote in its blog post yesterday: “In a mobile-first, cloud-first world, it’s mobility of the experiences that matter to people, and devices are critical to bringing this to life for consumers, businesses, developers and IT. Our aspiration at Microsoft is to continue to build and grow a vibrant community of billions of people who love and rely on Microsoft experiences, on any device, across all aspects of their daily lives.”
Microsoft’s app portfolio for Android and iOS now includes a long list of its services ranging from the full Office suite, Bing and Cortana to a fully-featured Outlook email client, Groove Music streaming service and full OneDrive support. The company is going back to its roots as a software firm, deemphasising the need to run its Windows operating system in the process.

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