ASUS smartphones to come bundled with Microsoft Office

PanARMENIAN.Net - All ASUS smartphones with Android innards will come with pre-installed Microsoft apps and services after the two firms entered a patent licensing deal, Digital Spy reveals.

By pre-loading software including Office on its devices, ASUS joins the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony, which have similar agreements in place with Microsoft.

This expands on a private deal that was previously brokered between the companies, according to ZDNet.

Microsoft said that the partnership will pave the way for "the kind of collaboration between Microsoft and ASUS made possible only through mutual respect and alignment on intellectual property".

The Microsoft of old was involved in ongoing patent feuds with many of its tech rivals, but current CEO Satya Nadella has pursued cross-licensing deals instead.

Most recently, they buried the hatchet with Google on a patent feud revolving around Xbox video playback that had raged on for years.