Exact details about the deal are being kept under wraps, but this type of patent cross-licensing agreement sees Microsoft give up is usual royalty collections from software in order to push its apps directly in front of consumers. Given that Microsoft has taken a big step back from smartphone hardware and is now much more focused on mobile services and customer engagement, such a deal is one of few avenues open to Microsoft in order to push its products directly in front of consumers. This deal is particularly significant though, as Lenovo is one of the largest manufacturers in China, giving Microsoft access to another huge market.

The limited details available at this stage don’t mention anything about which upcoming Lenovo devices will receive the pre-installed software yet. However, Microsoft states that the deal will affect both Lenovo and Motorola branded devices.

This isn’t the first software deal that Microsoft has done with an Android manufacturer regarding pre-loaded apps. Asus, LG, Samsung, Sony, and Xaiomi have all been linked to similar schemes before. Although consumers haven’t usually appreciated the extra bloatware in the past, and I don’t expect that things will be any different this time around either.