Samsung and Microsoft extend their partnership to add deeper integration with Office on Galaxy Note20 devices and let users stream Android apps to Windows 10
The new Samsung Galaxy Note 20 devices will support Office app synchronization, new Your Phone features and Microsoft's cloud gaming functionality.
ZDNetMary Jo Foley
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second straight year Samsung and Microsoft have deepened their tie-up at a Galaxy Note launch: the 2019 Note10 deal brought Outlook, OneDrive, and Your Phone integration and made Microsoft a Note10 retailer. In between, Microsoft generalized the combined Word-Excel-PowerPoint Office app beyond the Note10 exclusivity to all of iOS and Android. The Note20 extension pushes further along both axes — Office app synchronization on the device, and streaming Android apps to Windows 10 via Your Phone plus cloud gaming — turning a marketing alliance into a cross-platform workflow play.
First-order effects
Galaxy Note20 buyers get synchronized Office apps and can run their Android apps directly on Windows 10 PCs through new Your Phone features, with Microsoft's cloud gaming layered onto Samsung hardware.
Second-order effects
Rival Android OEMs now face a two-front disadvantage: Samsung devices carry Office continuity and PC-app streaming that others lack, echoing the preinstall advantage Microsoft built years ago by paying Dell, Pegatron, and regional OEMs to ship Office and Skype on Android.
Third-order effects
Microsoft is reconstructing a mobile presence it never won with its own phones — not through a handset, but through annual OEM integrations that make Windows the desktop endpoint for Android workflows, a pattern that extends into Samsung's foldable lineup where multi-instance Teams and Outlook support followed a year later.
The trend: Phone-PC integration is becoming the currency of Android OEM differentiation, with Microsoft renting out its software surface annually to the strongest hardware partner rather than building its own device.
256GB Base Storage makes the pricing look better The starting price for Galaxy Note 20 Series is €999. Note20 4G & 5G come in a glasstic (Plastic) body so you gotta decide how good or bad you think it is. #GalaxyNote20Ultra #GalaxyNote20 #Samsung #Unpacked #GalaxyNote20Series
@tomwarren
Tom Warren on x
Microsoft is delivering on the dream of running Android apps on Windows 10. The new Your Phone app lets you pin Android apps to the taskbar or Start menu, and launch them side by side with Windows apps. It's out now. Details: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@tomwarren
Tom Warren on x
Microsoft is publishing a special Xbox Game Pass app on Samsung's Android app store that will include in-app purchases. The Google Play Store version of the app will not support this. Interesting plot twist in the 30% cut war / xCloud for iOS issues. https://www.theverge.com/... …
@wsj
@wsj on x
Phablets like the Galaxy Note could bring desktop productivity to those on the go. The problem with Samsung's latest? At the moment, no one's going anywhere, writes @JoannaStern. https://www.wsj.com/...
@icepickdanza
Patrick Argonar on x
@kravengod This is a dumb take. Microsoft will put xcloud ANYWHERE that they can. You think they're avoiding Apple? The Apple store policies are 100% the reason. They partnered with Samsung because the Samsung store lets them sell DLC too. They would put that everywhere if they c…
@firt
Maximiliano Firtman on x
Microsoft tried to run Android apps in Windows 10 since the beginning of the OS. It's the first time a solution is shipped. I hope it can be expanded to other devices because if this will work only with one brand and model it won't escalate. https://blogs.windows.com/...
@abhinavguptas
Abhinav Gupta on x
Very good move by @micrososft and @Samsung - though it's against the open nature of Android, and its a vendor lockup situation like Apple. Ideally, this integration should be between Android and Microsoft, to let all the vendors/phones benefit. https://blogs.windows.com/...
@mooch1978
@mooch1978 on x
No 🍎 = No Good. Phone wars aside, many gamers have iPhones and won't switch over to a Samsung phone for xCloud. They're already invested in Apple's ecosystem with digital purchases etc... This is a huge hit if Microsoft & Apple can't come to an agreement. #xCloud https://twitter.…
@edzitron
Ed Zitron on x
Even a cursory look at either of the linked articles shows this to be false lol https://twitter.com/...
@romudeth
Tony Polanco on x
Are Microsoft and Samsung being anti-consumer because of their exclusivity deal? 🤔
@chr1sa
Chris Anderson on x
So let me get this straight: -You can run Android apps on Windows -You will soon be able to run Windows apps on ChromeOS(https://theverge.com/ ...) -You can already run Android apps on ChromeOS So Windows/Android/ChromeOS are all essentially the same thing now MSFT/GOOG vs AAPL h…
@benthepcguy
Ben Rudolph on x
This. Is. Awesome. Big congrats to @VishnuNath and team! https://twitter.com/...
@alexqgb
Alex Bowles on x
Old enough to remember when phones were accessories to PCs and not the other way around. https://twitter.com/...
@peterpham
Peter Pham on x
This does look pretty damn cool... should I wait to switch to this? https://twitter.com/...
@ischafer
Ian Schafer on x
I think it may be time to revisit the naming convention https://twitter.com/...