There’s a Microsoft Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S8

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Published 30 Mar 2017

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Galaxy S8 black hero

Samsung started bundling Microsoft’s suite of Office apps like Skype, OneDrive, and Word etc. on its flagship devices starting from the Galaxy S6. This year though, both companies are taking a different approach as Microsoft will be selling its own customised version of the Galaxy S8.

Dubbed the Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition, the handset is already available for pre-order through Microsoft’s retail stores in the US. The Microsoft Edition of Galaxy S8 and S8+ will automatically download a bunch of apps from Microsoft when the handsets are connected to a Wi-Fi network during the setup process.

“A Microsoft customization is applied to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition when the devices are unboxed and connected to Wi-Fi,” says a Microsoft spokesperson. “This customization ensures customers a best-in-class productivity experience with Microsoft applications such as Office, OneDrive, Cortana, Outlook and more.”

All Galaxy S8 units will come with some Microsoft apps pre-installed (like the Office suite), but the Microsoft edition of the handsets will feature more apps from the company like Cortana, Outlook etc. It is likely that Samsung is selling a special version of the Galaxy S8 for Microsoft due to the patent licensing agreement it has with the company. By selling a Microsoft Edition of the Galaxy S8, Samsung would have likely managed to reduce the royalties it had to pay to Microsoft for some Android-related royalties that it holds.

[Via The Verge]