Microsoft To Make Cortana Available For Android And iOS Users

Microsoft has confirmed that Cortana, the personal voice assistant feature exclusively available on Windows Phone devices, will be soon available for both Google Android and Apple iOS users. A post from Joe Belfiore, vice president, operating systems group, at Microsoft, reveals the information on the official Windows blog.

Cortana can help users manage their everyday life or even important things in life. It is also called a “phone companion app” and its arrival on rival mobile operating system platforms will allow it to compete against personal assistant apps like Google Now and Apple’s Siri that come preloaded on Android and iOS devices, respectively.

Microsoft plans to release differently designed Cortana apps for Android and iOS platforms in order to enable the voice assistant app to work outside the Windows Phone platform. According to the Verge, like the Cortana app for Windows Phone, the voice assistant app for Android and iOS will allow users to ask the same queries.

The Cortana companion for Android is scheduled to be available in late June, while the companion for iOS it is scheduled to be out sometime later this year. However, the Cortana for Android and iOS may come with limited features, so it will not be as powerful as the one that comes preloaded on Windows Phone devices.

The Cortana app for Android and iOS will come with notification support that will allow a user to get alerts for things like flights, sports results, and so on. Phone Arena adds that it will also come with location-based reminders and it will also be able interact with other apps from Microsoft such as OneNote, OneDrive and more.

Cortana is set to appear on Windows 10 PCs later in this year, something that makes it a cross-platform digital voice assistant app. As of this writing, Microsoft has not revealed the Cortana app release date for Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Phone Arena speculates that its arrival may coincide with launch date of Windows 10 Mobile OS later this year. Below is an official video that shows Cortana running on an Android or iOS device:

Source: YouTube/Windows