Cortana is my favourite personal assistant that’s available in the market. It’s easy to set-up and use and I love how she organizes all of my important content, schedule and information in one place. Today, that experience is currently only available for Windows Phone 8.1 devices with it currently in testing for Windows 10. However, in the future that same Cortana experience will be coming to iOS and Android devices.
Microsoft confirmed the reasoning behind bringing Cortana to other platforms is so that Windows 10 PC users have that same personal assistant across all of their devices. Cortana will be delivered to these platforms as an application available on the Google Play and Apple App Store. The Cortana app will be able to do most of the things you do on your PC or Windows Phone such as reminders, flight tracking, voice search and so forth. Cortana’s Notebook will synchronise across all of these devices so if you change something on your iPhone, it also updates on your PC and vice versa.
As part of Microsoft strategy to be on every screen but better on Windows, this entails Cortana remaining best on the Windows platform including access to system OS features such as toggling settings and opening an app. The ability to integrate with third-party applications is also something that will be exclusive to Windows. The hands-free “Hey Cortana” feature will also be limited to Windows devices. This is due to certain requirements that require the feature to be built into the OS.
As part of Windows 10 integrating with the devices you love, Microsoft also announced the Phone Companion app which will be built into Windows 10. This is part of the company’s strategy for consumers to access and use Microsoft services such as Office, Xbox and OneDrive regardless of the device you own. The app is to allow all your devices to work together and it allows you to get the right apps on your phone (Skype, Office, OneNote, Cortana, OneDrive, Outlook, Xbox Music) to make it work together with your Windows 10 PC. They also confirmed updates to the Xbox Music app to add the OneDrive integration to iOS and Android which is currently exclusive to Windows.
Microsoft added that they “want everyone to love not just their Windows 10 PC, but all the devices they own, working with their Windows 10 PC.” Overall, I’ve been expecting to see Cortana on iOS and Android for some time and it’s just another way of getting people into the Microsoft eco-system. It gets people using Office, Xbox, OneDrive and so on and attaches people into these services, some free and others paid. I think it’s a great strategy and having Windows 10 integrate with every device you own is another step forward into a mobile first, cloud first world.
^Alan (@BeetleComet)
Alan Walsh is a games journalist, head writer at AR12Gaming. They contributed 52 articles to ICXM in 2015, focused on game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: leads editorial for AR12Gaming and reviews titles for OpenCritic.