Nestled within Microsoft's announcements today from the WinHEC conference in China is a familiar, yet unfamiliar name: Xiaomi. Currently Xiaomi makes exclusively Android powered mobile devices, but the Chinese OEM has entered into a program with Microsoft to test Windows 10 on a very small, select group of its smartphones.
"Through a new program with Xiaomi, one of the top smartphone distributors in the world, a select group of Xiaomi Mi 4 power users will be invited to help test Windows 10 and contribute to its future release later this year. These power users will have the opportunity to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview – installing it and providing their feedback to Microsoft."
There isn't much more than that to go on, but one thing seems clear. For some people, somewhere, there will be a Xiaomi phone running the Windows 10 Technical Preview. And that has our interest piqued.
Update: In a statement to The Next Web, Microsoft announced:
As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience. This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We're excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.Xiaomi is a leading phone manufacturer in China undergoing significant global expansion. We are excited to partner with them in China and jointly gather feedback from Chinese users on their experience with Windows 10 to jointly collaborate on product and services development for the platform.Availability will be announced in the months to come.
Source: Windows Blog
