Microsoft only dabbles in Android hardware with phones like the Surface Duo and its sequel, but that's only one aspect of the company's interest in the platform. It also makes some of its services available on the mobile operating system, including Office, OneDrive, Microsoft Launcher, and SwiftKey. Microsoft is now merging all of these Android-adjacent development teams together under a single corporate organisation in an effort to unify its Android activities.
According to Windows Central, the restructure was communicated to staff via an internal memo from Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay. The new team will be dubbed Android Microsoft Platform and Experiences (or AMPX for short), and it will encompass the company's Android OS team (which handles software upgrades for both Surface Duo devices) as well as numerous of its Android app development departments.
The division will apparently be led by Ali Akgun, who was formerly the CVP of Surface at Microsoft, with other senior executives also shifting jobs as a result of the restructure. Despite the fact that several crucial internal parts are being moved, no layoffs are predicted as a result of this adjustment.
Previously, applications like SwiftKey and Microsoft Launcher were created and maintained by the Microsoft Mobile Experiences division (or MMX), but with this reorganisation, those teams will be transferred to a group devoted just to Android. In a statement, the business confirmed the switch to Windows Central:
We, like other businesses, examine our operations on a regular basis. We have implemented a new organisational structure in order to increase our impact and better serve our customers and partners.
What can we, the Android community, anticipate from this move? Maybe, just maybe, we'll receive greater support for Microsoft's current Android goods and services as a result of this, and it's also probable that the corporation will double down on its attempts to connect Android with Windows via apps like Phone Link. However, if we end up with greater software support for the Surface Duo series as a result of this, it will be worth it.
