Microsoft now has 74 hardware partners pre-installing its apps on Android devices

Microsoft today announced that there are now 74 hardware makers in 25 countries that are pre-installing, or will pre-install, Microsoft apps on its Android phones. The latest addition is Acer, which will begin pre-installing Microsoft services and apps on its Android smartphones and tablets in the second half of 2016.

Apps included in this arrangement include Word, Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Skype, as Nick Parker, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s original equipment manufacturer division, wrote in a blog post.

“Office and Microsoft services are available on a wide variety of Android devices today, such as the LG G Pad 2, Samsung Galaxy S6, Sony Xperia Z4 and many other tablets and phones offered by our partners,” Parker wrote.

Microsoft has done more to embrace Android lately, including bringing its Cortana personal digital assistant to Google’s mobile operating system. Microsoft’s Arrow Android launcher launched out of beta in October, and a few weeks before that, Microsoft bought Double Labs, the company behind the Android lockscreen app Echo. And Microsoft has also adjusted its approach to making Windows Phones — specifically as it relates to flagship Lumias — perhaps with the idea of focusing more on software for iOS and Android.

In December, Microsoft said new Windows 10 phones would come with Office pre-installed.

Android had the largest mobile OS market share in the U.S. at the end of 2015, with 53.3 percent, while Windows Phone had 2.9 percent, according to data from comScore.