Microsoft dropped an interesting piece of information today amid its confirmation that Windows 10 will go on sale this summer.
Near the end of its announcement, the Redmond-based company casually revealed that it is testing Windows 10 with “power users” of Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 4 Android smartphone.
That’s to say that the software doesn’t offer a dual boot option, which Microsoft has pushed in the past in India. This is a ROM, based on Windows, that operates much like software from Cyanogen — a company Microsoft was incorrectly linked with an investment in — and other custom ROMs developed by the likes of Tencent and Baidu in China.
The ROM is thus designed to go beyond Microsoft’s Android apps and offer a native-like Windows experience on Android phones.
That’s a pretty powerful concept, and it is no surprise to see Microsoft testing it in China, where consumers are more inclined to install ROMs. There’s a greater spirit of customization in China, particularly for Android users since third-party app stores are the norm as Google Play is severely restricted there.
Microsoft, of course, has big plans to make this software available to more devices with time.
A good idea though it may be, getting adoption for an Android ROM in China is no easy thing. Just ask Baidu, which recently shuttered its Android software efforts due to low interest — that’s despite the company’s vast reach and distribution potential as ‘China’s Google’.
Microsoft has confirmed Mi 4 owners can “flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS” and that “availability will be announced in the months to come.”
Via: Techcrunch
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