Xiaomi’s phones to come preloaded with Microsoft Office and Skype

Xiaomi and Microsoft have announced that they have expanded their global partnership. Starting from September 2016, Xiaomi’s Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4S, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3 will come preinstalled with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype. The phones will continue to run Android though they will have Microsoft’s productivity suite preinstalled. While the free suite accomplishes a great deal, you’ll still need an Office 365 subscription to get access to more advanced editing features.

Source: Xiaomi

Microsoft will also be selling 1,500 of its patents to Xiaomi for an undisclosed sum, paving the way for the brand to make its appearance in the lucrative US market. Odds are you won’t be seeing an AT&T or other US telco exclusive made Xiaomi device as yet as there’s still an array of regulatory hurdles to undergo before they finally make their way Stateside though according to Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s Vice President of International in a recent WSJ article, their focus is still on the India market. “We are taking the necessary steps for launching in the U.S., but for the time being, the focus remains in India,” Mr. Barra said.

This expands on their partnership which begun when Xiaomi offered a Mi Pad variant running Windows 10 and implemented Microsoft Azure for their Mi Cloud service.

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