Company ready to begin in-house Android development

Jul 7, 2020 20:51 GMT  ·  By

The Android ecosystem is becoming more and more important for Microsoft, and the Redmond-based software giant is getting ready to make the switch from a mobile app and services company to a hardware developer focused on Google’s operating system.

Surface Duo is Microsoft’s very own Android smartphone supposed to launch sometime in the coming months, but according to people familiar with the matter, the world’s number one software company is already planning in advance and thus acting accordingly.

What Microsoft wants to do now is bring the Surface Duo to the market before Samsung unveils the new Galaxy Fold 2, and with the South Korean firm planning a major Unpacked event on August 5, it’s pretty clear that the new dual-screen Microsoft device is just around the corner.

And now that Microsoft is ready to finally invest in Android hardware, the software giant needs to increase its commitment to Google’s ecosystem too. And by the looks of things, everything is taking shape quite nicely.

A recent report reveals that Microsoft wants to create its very own Android development unit, as it wants better control of the software running on the Surface Duo. So essentially, the company wants a custom version of Android installed on its Android devices, which is something that makes total sense given its long-term commitment to new hardware.

One of the recent Microsoft moves in this regard include the acquisition of several Movial operations, including those in Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. Movial, which already worked with Microsoft for the creation of the Surface Duo in the first place, is now becoming a key part of Microsoft’s long-term Android strategy, with some of its employees actually joining the software firm.

While Movial will continue to exist independently, as some parts are still not acquired, Microsoft will invest more aggressively in research and development operations going forward. And Movial’s Romanian unit, for example, will spearhead these efforts on Android.

Microsoft’s long-term goal is to build the Android version powering the Surface Duo in-house, which means that Microsoft’s smartphone would run Microsoft’s software. The whole thing is supposed to happen on the Surface Duo 2, which could be launched at some point in the coming years, but whose development has already started.

Movial itself has agreed that parts of the company are now involved in a Microsoft transaction, albeit no information was offered on how exactly the whole thing would work in the long term from a product perspective.

“This transaction involves people in Movial operations in Romania, Taiwan and the United States. Movial will continue operating as an independent company going forward, continuing to provide software engineering and design services. The transaction enables Movial to focus efforts on some key competency areas, such as cyber security. In the short term majority of our remaining staff will be located in Helsinki, Finland but we are also hiring in other locations,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.

On the other hand, Microsoft did confirm that the whole idea is to streamline the work on Android.

“Microsoft recently completed an agreement with Movial to hire employees across several offices as part of the company's efforts to boost Windows and Android development efforts,” it says.

Microsoft itself is betting big on the Surface Duo, and it’s pretty clear that the company wants to be part of the Android business in the long run. The second-generation Duo could resolve many of the annoyances of the first model, especially given the rumors that this original device could come with rather outdated hardware. Whether this happens or not is something we’ll just have to wait and see.