Windows 10 ROM project is a Microsoft experiment, says Xiaomi
Microsoft yesterday announced its intention to replace Android on Android phones with its upcoming Windows 10 for Phones operating system. The company is collaborating with China’s number 1 OEM, Xiaomi and some Xiaomi power users to come up with a solution. Today, Hugo Barra, Xiaomi Global VP, set out to clear some ambiguities in Microsoft’s announcement.
Barra goes on to highlight that this is an experimental program where Microsoft is liaising with Xiaomi power users/fan community in China. He also says that this is exclusively for the Mi4 devices and can be flashed just like an Android ROM is flashed. As things stand today, there will be no dual-boot option, treading carefully on both legal and technical fronts.
Here is Barra’s complete statement:
We received many questions from Mi fans about an announcement made by Microsoft yesterday regarding Windows 10 Technical Preview for Mi 4 users in China. We’d like to clarify a few points.
This is an experimental program led by Microsoft, working directly with the Mi fan community in China.
Microsoft is working on a build of Windows 10 specifically for Mi 4 devices. This Windows 10 build will not be running on top of Android nor be available as a dual-boot option. A small number of Mi 4 power users from the Xiaomi Forum in China who choose to take part in this experimental program will have to manually re-flash their Mi 4 devices with this Windows 10 ROM, in the same way they would re-flash other Android ROMs.
At Xiaomi, we are very supportive of users trying new things and we encourage them to do so all the time! That’s why all of our devices ship with unlocked bootloader, for example. That’s also why Xiaomi welcomes Microsoft team members to interact directly with members of the Xiaomi Forum in China. More details will be announced by Microsoft in the coming months. This program will only be available in China.
Xiaomi continues to fully embrace the Android ecosystem through our MIUI software platform and we’re moving ahead full steam building many exciting new Android-based features and services.
