Technology

Microsoft’s Voice Assistant Cortana now on Android and iOS

The popular personal voice assistant, Cortana which debuted during the Build conference last year has always been limited to the small segment of mobile users, that is, Windows Phones which are being used by less than 5% of the people around the globe as their primary device. It’s quite interesting to note that the service will now be available on both Android and iOS, that means, Cortana will now be a cross-platform voice assistant – working on all the major mobile operating systems.

Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore wrote “we realize that many people use iPhones or Android phones, and we want them to enjoy some of their Windows experience and content while away from their Windows 10 PC. Regardless of the operating systems you choose across your devices – everything important to you should roam across the products you already own – including your phone.”

With this, Microsoft has moved closer to be the best in class mobile-first and cloud-first, at the end that is what Satya Nadella aspired. Cortana is the third service from Microsoft that will be available on all the operating systems, which includes Microsoft Office and Outlook. Cortana will be now known as a cross platform voice assistant service rather that being a Windows – only took, and will be available on Android by the end of June. The iOS users will have to wait for a little longer, as usual to get the service on their App Store which is expected to be present there by later this year.

With the endless possibilities, Microsoft also needs to ensure that every feature that the application has is compatible with the other rivalry operating systems. And they seem to have drawn a conclusion the article they published which made the announcement.

“Some features require access to the system that aren’t currently possible with iOS or Android, so things like toggling settings or opening apps won’t initially be available in the Cortana companions for those platforms. Similarly, the ability to invoke Cortana hands-free by saying “Hey Cortana” requires special integration with the device’s microphone, so that feature will be limited to Windows Phones and PCs,” Belfiore describes.

Source: Windows Blog
Featured Image Source: Mashable

Karan Uppal

An Indian by birth, engineering student by fate and blogger by choice. Solving life's mysteries in the colossal world, is the eighteen year old Karan Uppal, a Computer Science and Engineering Student pursuing his Bachelors degree from RV College of Engineering, Bangalore. Loves Pizza and gadgets, not always in that order.
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