Xiaomi and Microsoft are expanding their partnership

Jul 30, 2015 12:27 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced back in March that they had teamed up to offer Mi4 owners the option to install Windows 10 Mobile Technical Preview on their devices.

So a small number of beta testers were invited to download and install a special Windows 10 Mobile ROM on their Xiaomi Mi4 handsets. The Chinese company recruited the beta testers from the Xiaomi community, and they would communicate directly with Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile team and provide feedback.

This week, Microsoft’s own Joe Belfiore has announced that the company is looking to kick start the Insider program in China for Xiaomi smartphone owners, which will allow them to get Windows 10 Mobile on board their devices. We’re not told which Xiaomi devices are to be included in the program, but hopefully the Mi4 will not be the only one eligible.

Windows 10 Mobile on Android devices? Yes, please

Sadly, we can’t give you the exact date when the Insider program will kick start in the country. So even if previously only a small number of users were able to test Windows 10 Mobile on their Android devices, it appears that Microsoft wants to give anyone with a Xiaomi device the chance to test out Windows 10 Mobile.

What’s more, in his tweets, Belfiore hinted towards the fact that multiple Android devices would soon be able to run the mobile version of Windows 10, not only Xiaomi.

This program will certainly be extremely useful if you’re an Android user who is entertaining the idea of switching to the Windows platform. You’ll be able to test the new operating system on your phone without having to go out and pay money for a new device. If you like what you see, then you can invest your cash without worry.

On top of that, some users might just like to experiment a bit. Imagine how it would be to see Windows 10 Mobile on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or the OnePlus 2.

Naturally, we’re pretty far from seeing this scenario actually happen, but good old Xiaomi is paving the way for such a scenario, it seems. Hopefully, we’ll know more about the Insider program soon enough.  

More Xiaomi devices to run Windows 10 Mobile (2 Images)

Xiaomi Mi4 running Windows 10 Mobile
More Xiaomi devices with Windows 10 Mobile incoming
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