The overnight launch of a new Samsung S20 Note and Note Ultra has revealed that Microsoft is well and truely snuggling up to Samsung and that Samsung is taking advantage of Microsoft’s software and gaming skills.
What was refreshing about this launch was that Samsung did not bang on about their camera supremacy in the smartphone, instead it was about tools productivity and basically have a PC capable device in your pocket.
Last night the two Companies expanded on the integration between their services and products, including the ability to use mobile apps on Windows 10 and xCloud gaming-related features.
It’s an extension of their high-profile partnership announced last year.
Galaxy Note20, Tab S7, Galaxy Watch3, Z Fold2, and the Galaxy Buds Live. The Note20 will debut Aug 21 and Microsoft is all over the new Samsung smartphones and tablets.
Link to Windows was first announced a year ago and lets Android smartphone users make calls, send text messages, check notifications, and more from their Windows PC, using the Your Phone app.
With the new Note20, users will be able to interact with mobile apps such as Instagram and WhatsApp from their PC. The apps can be pinned to the Windows 10 taskbar or Start menu, and users will be able to run multiple mobile apps side-by-side on a PC later this year.
“Whether you are working on a document, keeping up on your social media feed or simply staying connected with family and friends, everything is accessible in one place, so your flow is never broken,” Microsoft exec Yusuf Mehdi wrote in a blog post.There is also new auto-syncing between Samsung Notes and Samsung Reminders with Microsoft productivity apps such as Outlook and OneNote. Microsoft is also adding Outlook integration to Samsung Galaxy watches.
Forrester Research’s principal analyst Frank Gillett says an expanded partnership to integrate Microsoft 365 apps with Samsung smartphone users “is the biggest news”.
“Samsung and Microsoft have moved strongly to create an integrated experience between Galaxy smartphones and Windows PCs in ways that Apple or Google won’t match,” he says.
The fact that I can walk away from my PC and a large attached screen and now have access to Microsoft apps on a Google Android device is a key benefit especially when those I need information moments surface.
The ability to seamlessly take multimedia notes, respond to messages, manage notifications, sync photos, and even take calls across Galaxy phone or Windows PC is very powerful and is the single rerason for all those people who work on a Windows PC but own an iPhone to upgrade to the new S20 Note.
You get a better AMOLED display, bucketloads of memory and components made by Samsung, unlike an iPhone which is half Samsung components anyway and not necesarily the latest components one finds in a Samsung premium smartphone.
These features start to match the integration of Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and macOS experiences especially as Samsung now has a supurb 12.4″ AMOLED display 5G S7+ tablet that sits perfectly alongside the new S20 Note.
Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley notes that later this year there will be an improved ability to run Android apps on your Windows desktop: “Users will be able to run multiple mobile apps side-by-side on their Windows 10 PCs”, while the new Galaxy S7 Tab will be able to work as a second screen for Windows 10. A Microsoft blog post also touts how Galaxy phone and tablet users will be able to play over 100 high-quality Xbox games.
DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics said overnight “We believe the mobile industry is on the cusp of a transformation, one in which individual devices give way to seamless, connected and continuous experiences, wherever we go. Open collaborations, like this industry-leading partnership with Microsoft, are instrumental in pioneering a new generation of mobile experiences. As new technologies like 5G become a reality, our partnership will play an important role in helping people live more fluid, flexible lives”.
