Microsoft’s apps and services haven’t typically been found on the Android platform in the past, but that all started to change just a couple of years ago. Now, you can find all of the apps included in Microsoft Office available through the Play Store for anyone to download and install. Not all devices come with the Play Store pre-installed, though, leaving some device owners without access to Microsoft’s highly productive offerings. Xiaomi devices, for example, don’t have the Play Store, but thanks to Xiaomi’s Microsoft partnership which has just been expanded on today, future Xiaomi smartphones and tablets will come pre-installed with Microsoft’s apps and services right out of the box. This partnership expansion builds on the work between Xiaomi and Microsoft, as the Xiaomi Mi Pad already runs Windows 10, and the Mi Cloud service is powered by Microsoft Azure.
As part of the terms of the expanded partnership, future Xiaomi devices will come pre-installed with Microsoft Office apps, as well as Skype, allowing business and individual customers to have access to a more productive suite of apps to work more efficiently. Xiaomi wouldn’t be the first company to partner with Microsoft for pre-loaded apps, as the Redmond, Washington-based company had announced a partnership with ASUS toward the end of last year which would see Office apps pre-installed on future devices as well.
Xiaomi states that the apps will be available on devices worldwide where Xiaomi devices are officially available, including places like China and India. In addition to Microsoft’s Office apps being available on Xiaomi smartphones and tablets, the two companies have also signed a cross-license and patent transfer agreement. The announcement outlines that the apps, which include Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Skype, will come installed on Xiaomi devices starting in September of this year, and will include devices such as the Xiaomi Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3, and Redmi 3, although it wasn’t specified whether or not this only pertains to new devices or if existing device owners will get these apps optionally as part of a software update. Xiaomi also didn’t clarify an exact time in September for the release of these devices with the pre-installed Microsoft apps.