Microsoft apps coming to Cyanogen Android smartphones

Microsoft and Cyanogen have struck a deal to place some of the Redmond company's applications on Cyanogen's modified version of the Android mobile operating system.

Microsoft is expanding its toehold on Android.

Cyanogen, a developer of a modified version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, said Thursday that it will bundle Microsoft applications such as the Office productivity suite and Bing search engine into its new releases.

Google develops Android under an open-source model, allowing other companies to tinker with its design. The free-to-use software is the world’s most widely used smartphone operating system, and Google requires companies that license the software directly to prominently display a bundle of Google services, including search and email.

Cyanogen, which has its corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., but does much of its development work in Seattle, is among the companies that build modified versions of the operating system not as closely tied to Google. Microsoft was reported to be weighing an investment in the company, but wasn’t among the investors identified when Cyanogen announced an $80 million funding round last month. The company says it has about 50 million users of its software worldwide.

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The agreement announced Thursday will place Microsoft’s main applications on Cyanogen, including Office, Bing, Skype, cloud storage app OneDrive and Outlook email.

Microsoft for years gained a reputation for prioritizing software for Windows-powered personal computers and smartphones. But with the company’s share of the global smartphone market stuck at less than 3 percent, the company under Chief Executive Satya Nadella has pivoted toward expanding its presence on devices built by rivals Google and Apple.

The company in recent months bought startups that make popular applications for Android and Apple’s iOS, and released limited free-to-use versions of the Office productivity suite for those platforms. Microsoft also struck a deal with Samsung to put some of its apps on the South Korean company’s latest flagship smartphone (though some U.S. carriers have reportedly refused to load some Microsoft apps on devices they sell).

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