Microsoft has announced that its apps will soon be pre-installed on more Samsung mobile devices, an expansion of a deal last month that put Microsoft’s apps on Samsung’s flagship smartphones.
The move is a clear swipe at Google — the Microsoft apps involved in the deal serve as replacements for Google’s software that come preloaded on Samsung’s Android-powered devices. Samsung has recently made it easier for its users to delete apps that come pre-installed on its phones, leaving users to decide which apps they prefer for functions like a calendar or email.
Microsoft also announced similar partnerships in several countries outside the U.S. Market.
From Microsoft’s blog:
We’ve proven that we’re not afraid to look outside ourselves to reinvent ourselves. We’ve received fantastic customer feedback for making Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype available across all platforms. But, we’re far from done. Now we see an opportunity to turn our focus to our device partners — easing mobile access to great apps and services for customers by pre-installing them directly on the device.
Earlier today, we announced an expanded global partnership with Samsung to deliver Microsoft mobile productivity services to both consumer and business customers. Building on that news, I’m pleased to share that we’ve also expanded strategic agreements with leading global OEM Dell, and regional OEMs including TrekStor of Germany, JP Sa Couto of Portugal, Datamatic of Italy, DEXP of Russia, Hipstreet of Canada, QMobile of Pakistan, Tecno of Africa, and Casper of Turkey, as well as top original device manufacturer Pegatron. These 11 hardware partners will pre-install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on Android devices coming to market later this year.
Microsoft has essentially ceded the mobile operating system market to Google and Apple — a recent report showed that more than 96% of all smartphone users are running either Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS software.
Microsoft posted quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share and revenue of $26.47 billion in January, meeting expectations.