14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has slowly moved from being fully committed to Windows phones to becoming one of the most important Android device retailers, as several smartphones running Google’s mobile OS landed in its own stores.
Another Android phone will soon be sold by Microsoft as part of a partnership between the tech giant and Huawei, as the latter wants to conquer the United States with the Mate 10 Pro and it wants to use the largest local stores to do it.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro will go on pre-order in the United States on February 4 and the GSM-based version, which should work on AT&T and T-Mobile just flawlessly, will be available from a series of partners, including here retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy, but also the Microsoft Store, both online and brick and mortar locations. The first units will be shipped on February 18 and pricing will start at $799.
Microsoft’s Android commitment
Microsoft evolving into an Android device retailer first happened in the spring of 2017 when the company agreed to sell the Samsung Galaxy S8 in its own stores.
First seen as betrayal by hardcore Windows phone fans, it later proved to be part of a strategy to help Microsoft expand its apps and services into the Android ecosystem, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition played a key role in this – Samsung later denied such a model ever existed, despite bundling several Microsoft apps on the S8.
Also last year, Microsoft started selling the Razer Phone in its own stores, this time without a dedicated “Microsoft Edition” version of the device.
The company hasn’t made any announcement regarding the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and the chances are it never will, but if you still needed a confirmation that Windows phones have no future, there you go.
