Recent announcements from Mobile World Congress show that Samsung will preload Microsoft’s cloud services such as OneDrive and Microsoft Office apps on their new flagship Galaxy S6 phones. Is this the beginning of a bigger move by Microsoft?
Rumors have swirled for several weeks but earlier this week at Mobile World Congress confirmation has come that Samsung will ship their new Galaxy S6 devices with Microsoft OneDrive and Office apps preinstalled. While not replacing Google apps outright, this preloading of Microsoft apps gives them a foothold in the most popular Android devices. Keep in mind that Microsoft already has dozens of its own apps built for Android.
Also of note is earlier news that Microsoft is investing in Cyanogen, makers of their own Android OS who have openly defied Google with statements from their founder that they will “Take Android from Google”. Whether this would be an outright replacement of Google services in favor of Microsoft’s cloud based services has yet to be seen.
So what is the end-game for Microsoft in this insurgence into the Android camp? Certainly Microsoft is no stranger to infiltrating rival markets and using their financial and technical capabilities to take over or at least steal away market share. Will becoming a fixture in the Android landscape lead to more direct involvement in the Android OS market? Will Android apps show up in the Windows Store?
Tell us what you think by voting in our poll below and hit the comment button to tell us how you think this is going to play out.
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