Motorola’s phones have stayed relatively free of any pre-loaded apps, but that’s changing now as part of a new patent cross-licensing deal between Lenovo and Microsoft. The move will see select Lenovo and Motorola phones offering the Office suite along with Skype and OneDrive out of the box.
Microsoft has inked similar deals with top Android manufacturers over the years, including Samsung, ASUS, LG, Sony, Xiaomi, and HTC. There’s no mention as to which specific models will get the productivity apps, but Microsoft’s corporate vice president Nick Parker mentioned in the official statement that they will be pre-installed on “Lenovo’s premium devices.”
The move makes sense for Microsoft seeing as how the Redmond giant is transitioning into a services company. Instead of collecting royalties from handset manufacturers over intellectual property, it is getting its productivity apps bundled into millions of phones.
