Microsoft will soon allow Android apps from competitor Google's Android system into its own Windows phones on the latter part of this year, Reuters reported.
Microsoft has struggled to attract users into its smartphone offerings, and currently has only 3 percent of the global smartphone market.
According to Strategy Analytics, Android phones, led by Samsung, commands an 81 percent market share, with Apple getting the remaining 15 percent.
Aside from this move, Microsoft is expected to release its Windows 10 operating system this summer. Windows 10 will - for the first time - run across PCs, tablets and phones.
While Microsoft still dominates the PC market, it has failed to improve its presence in the tablet and phone industry, partly due to the lack of compatible apps.
Al Hilwa, an analyst at tech research firm IDC, told Reuters that Microsoft's move shows that a mobile app code can start from any of a number of sources. He noted that in order to succeed, a company must acknowledge the multiple developer ecosystems that are available.
