Microsoft has further affirmed that it has no intention to play in the consumer smartphone market any longer with its latest decision to offload some patents and licences to Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi. This action would allow Xiaomi to use the patents and licenses on its smartphones.
Xiaomi in return will ship Microsoft Office and Skype on Xiaomi Android smartphones and tablets thereby reaching tens of millions of consumers and business customers in China, India and around the world.
The companies also entered a new cross-license and patent transfer agreement.
Furthermore, from September 2016,
Xiaomi Android devices, including Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, will come pre-installed with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype applications.
“We are excited to be working closely with Microsoft on a broad technology collaboration partnership,” said Xiang Wang, senior vice president at Xiaomi. “As demonstrated by this agreement with Microsoft, Xiaomi is looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders, with the ultimate goal of bringing the best user experience to our Mi fans.”
“People want their favorite apps and experiences to work seamlessly on the device of their choice, and that’s exactly what this partnership offers,” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of Business Development at Microsoft. “Together with Xiaomi, we’re bringing the very best in mobile productivity to millions more customers in China and around the world.”