Microsoft and Xiaomi have announced that they will be expanding their partnership to bring customers a more holistic user experience on their mobile devices. The agreement sees Xiaomi purchasing 1,500 patents from Microsoft, and according to Reuters, these patents include “voice communications, multimedia, and cloud computing.”
It is common for Microsoft to license its computing patents to most Android OEMs, with the agreement usually including the bundling of Microsoft apps. The agreement also mentioned that starting in September, Xiaomi’s Android devices like the Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4S, Redmi Note 3, as well as the Redmi 3 will have Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Skype pre-installed.
This isn’t the first time the two companies have worked together. Xiaomi has offered a Windows 10 port for its previous flagship, the Mi 4. Xiaomi even sold a variant of the Mi Pad 2 that has Windows 10 installed. Another instance of the two companies working together is Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud service, which is powered by Microsoft Azure.
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This latest agreement between Microsoft and Xiaomi is being referred to as a “long-term partnership.” In turn, the expansion from Microsoft and Xiaomi’s partnership gives the latter the opportunity to make its move into the western market.
Even so, Xiaomi might find it hard to legally penetrate the western market, not to mention the fact that the company may not be able to offer its devices with competitive price tags there. But if it does manage to make it happen, then Xiaomi might just be able to give every other mobile phone company in the US a run for their money.
(Source: Microsoft via Ars Technica)
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