Most Android smartphones come with a suite of Google apps including Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Drive. But device makers can also load additional apps before shipping the phones to customers… and now Microsoft has announced that later this year nearly a dozen companies will be shipping Android phones and tablets with Office and other Microsoft apps.

office for android

Those 11 partners include global companies Samsung and Dell as well as regional companies including TrekStor, DEXP, and Hipstreet as well as OEM Pegatron.

The deal with Microsoft means that each of those companies will ship Android devices that come with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype apps.

The highest profile Android devices to ship with Microsoft apps are probably the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones which will feature OneNote, OneDrive and Skype. Within the next few months Samsung will also begin loading those apps as well as other Microosft Office apps on some of its Android tablets.

Want to uninstall Microsoft’s apps from your device? Tough. There’s generally no way to remove apps that come pre-loaded on an Android phone unless you replace the entire operating system. But you can disable them on most recent versions of Android. Just fire up your app launcher, long-press the app in question, drag it to the App Info screen, and choose the “Disable” option to make sure it’s not taking up any resources or showing up in your app drawer anymore. It’ll still occupy some disk space though.

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8 replies on “11 companies to ship Android devices with Microsoft apps this year”

  1. So in 99% of all cases, the apps are there to stay. (Not many people bother to root their devices.)

  2. Uh Oh, I smell bloatware from a mile.

    I hope those preinstalled MS “Apps” are easy to be uninstalled too if the user don’t need them taking up space.

  3. Do the office apps still require an Office 365 subscription to run, or do you have to pay an extra hundred dollars to get these apps to work?

    1. Basically Android and iOS users now get the same deal that previously only WP users had… Free version of Office for mobile and you only need subscription for the advance/premium features that go beyond what the mobile apps normally cover…

      The business model is just the same as other free vs Pro version of other mobile apps, relying on the advance/premium features to get people to pay up or stick to the more limited free version…

      Mind, MS also now offers a personal version of Office 365 that covers 1 PC and one mobile device for $69.99 a year or $6.99 a month as a cheaper option to the $99.99 a year or $9.99 a month Home account that covers 5 PC’s and 1 mobile device (two if you have one Android and one iOS device)…

      While, if you work for a company that has a subscription deal with MS then you can get access to even cheaper plans… Starts with Business Essentials at $5 a month… Though, if you only need Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Calendar, OneDrive, Outlook and OneNote then there’s always the free online versions you can use with just about any browser and a Internet connection… to suppliment the mobile apps…

    2. In a nutshell, the Office apps are free for personal use on all devices with 10.1″ screens and smaller. (The minimum requirement is 7″). They are not restricted in any way. Over 10.1″ and you need an Office 365 subscription to enable editing.

      I’m assuming there is nothing to stop you from you using the apps with an external display and Bluetooth keyboard. Not a bad way to use Office apps for free legitimately, if you happen to have a tablet you’re not using much.

  4. I have removed system apps with a rooted device and programs like Titanium Backup. Your device has to be rooted for these apps to work though.

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