Microsoft is testing a new ROM that enables Android smartphone users to test Windows 10 on their handsets. The software maker has partnered with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi for the ROM's initial rollout.
Select "power users" of Xiaomi's smartphones have been chosen to test the Windows 10 Technical Preview on their handsets running on Xiaomi's MIUI, a modified version of Android, according to Terry Myerson, Microsoft executive vice president of operating systems. He made the announcement at the Windows Hardware Engineering Community summit in Shenzhen, China.
"Through a new program with Xiaomi, one of the top smartphone distributors in the world, a select group of Xiaomi Mi 4 power users will be invited to help test Windows 10 and contribute to its future release later this year," Myerson says in a blog post following the announcement. "These power users will have the opportunity to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview — installing it and providing feedback to Microsoft."
Neither Microsoft nor Xiaomi offered further details about the program, but sources cited by TechCrunch say the ROM effectively overrides Android, allowing the device to act entirely as a phone running on Windows 10, with a native-like user interface and Windows apps. Microsoft is reportedly planning to make the ROM available to more devices in the future.
While ROM means read only memory, for those who like to modify their phones it means an actual custom OS image that you install into the ROM area of your phone.
For now, the test is being conducted with Xiaomi, presumably because of the Chinese manufacturer's reliable base of loyal customers who are highly receptive to weekly new features based on customer feedback and are very responsive when it comes to testing out those features. Xiaomi stressed that it is not partnering with Microsoft as a means to gain revenue but simply to help the Redmond company with the trial.
The move is just part of Microsoft's new strategy to move away from its closed-systems approach and reach out to a wider audience by making its services available on all devices across all platforms. With a measly 2.7 percent market share of the smartphone industry, according to market share data for 2014 from research firm IDC, Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do with Apple (14.8 percent) and Android (81.5 percent), and its latest plan is to abandon work on hardware for the moment and focus on getting its services available on Android and iOS.
The strategy seems to be paying off, at least for Microsoft's tablet business. Microsoft's range of Surface hybrid tablets come bundled with a free year of Office 365, the company's cloud-based office business suite, which has helped Microsoft grow its tablet unit from being virtually nonexistent a few years ago. A report by research firm IDC predicts Microsoft's tablet market share will grow from 5.1 percent in 2014 to 14.1 percent five years from now, a growth far faster than predicted for Android tablets and Apple's iPads.
Windows 10 is expected to launch this summer to 190 countries and in 111 languages, Myerson said.
