Microsoft Launcher, Movies & TV For Android Underscores How Redmond Is Embracing The Droid
With Microsoft's own smartphone OS on its deathbed, the software giant is now focusing on Android and iOS devices. It's admittedly odd to see Microsoft making apps specifically for Android and iOS given that Apple and Google are two of its biggest rivals. Sources claim that Microsoft has been working on a new app for both iOS and Android devices called Microsoft Movies & TV. Currently, that app is only available on Windows-based devices like the PC, Xbox, and Windows 10 Mobile devices and supports content from the Microsoft Store.
With a version of that app coming for iOS and Android, movie and TV fans with large catalogs of content purchased from Microsoft can finally free that content from their PC or Xbox and view it on their mobile device on-the-go. Mobile users traditionally don’t spend much money or time with the Microsoft Store and its wealth of digital content because there is no way to view that content outside the home, but the Movies & TV app changes the equation.
Reports also claim that Microsoft is set to become part of the Movies Anywhere program allowing users to watch content purchased via different digital stores in one place. Currently, that includes iTunes, VUDU, Google Play, and Amazon.
Microsoft also has an update available for Microsoft Launcher on Android. The update brings Launcher for Android to version 4.11 and adds a bunch of new features that have been in testing with beta users. Launcher now supports Cortana multi-turn SMS and calling. Cortana is a direct competitor to Google Assistant and gives Android users another virtual assistant they can try out.
