Microsoft and Lenovo announced a “deepening of their strategic relationship”, which will see Microsoft apps preinstalled on “select” devices from the Chinese vendor.

The deal also includes a patent cross-licensing agreement that covers Lenovo and Motorola devices. Terms of the agreement were not revealed.

Microsoft’s productivity apps, including Office, OneDrive and Skype, will be loaded onto Lenovo devices, and the vendor “expects to ship millions of these Android-based devices worldwide over the next several years”.

“Installing Microsoft apps and services on our devices will bring additional value to consumers around the globe,” Christian Eigen, leader of corporate alliances at Lenovo, said.

The US computing giant has inked similar deals with a number of companies, including Samsung, LG and Sony.

It was previously reported that Microsoft was cutting deals with vendors on Android patents, in order to get its apps into the hands of more customers. With Microsoft increasingly promoting cloud services, this provides it with an alternative way to generate revenue from its mobile assets – from end consumers rather than device makers.

Back in the day, Microsoft and Motorola were embroiled in a number of patent spats, although a subsequent truce between Microsoft and Google, former owner of Motorola, brought this to an end.