If you buy an Android tablet any time soon, there’s a pretty decent chance it’ll have Microsoft’s full array of productivity apps available right out of the box.
As part of a new partnership, all new Sony and LG Android tablets will have built in Word, Excel PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype apps.
Those two big hitters are part of a 20 company alliance, in addition to the 11 initial partnerships Microsoft announced in March. That primary partnership happened to include Samsung and Dell, among other regional OEMs.
Having LG, Sony, Samsung and Dell all serving up Office access, Microsoft has ensured it is serving up easy access to its top apps for a large portion of the Android market.
Microsoft says (via VentureBeat) the full suite of apps will appear first on a new, unnamed LG Android tablet, as well as the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet, both within the next 90 days.
The push from Microsoft highlights its recent quest for cross-platform dominance. The firm has been extremely proactive in bringing its top apps to devices not running Windows. As such, it is also is offering free access to the Office apps for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones and tablets.
Whether the move will please Google or not remains to be seen. The Android team is continually pushing hardware manufacturers to offer a more pure Android experience and built in productivity apps from Microsoft don’t exactly fit that bill.
Read more: Windows 10 vs Windows 8.1: Should you upgrade?
“Today I’m excited to announce that 20 additional global and local OEM partners, including LG, Sony, Haier, Positivo and Wortman, will make Microsoft productivity applications and services available on their Android tablets.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
