If you are not a huge fan of Siri or the Google Now you may soon have an alternative. Microsoft is porting over Cortana to Android in June and an iOS version a few months later. Cortana’s arrival is part of a larger cross-platform mobile strategy centered around the newly announced Phone Companion app for iOS and Android, which will help users configure their phones to work (and play) well with their Windows 10 computer.
Ever since Microsoft got a new CEO a few years ago the company has been bringing all of their key software to the mobile platform. If you really think about it, Microsoft Office has been in use for well over a decade and optimized apps for Android and iOS only came out this year. I know plenty of people who now rely on Outlook for their email, instead of using the default Mail app for Apple devices.
Microsoft says that the experience will be comparable to the one in Windows and Windows Phone, but not identical. You can use the dictate function, set reminders, track flights and otherwise keep your life organized. Cortana’s Notebook, which remembers what you like, will also sync across all your platforms.
It has been confirmed that the seminal “hey Cortana” or options to launch apps and settings will not be available on Android and iOS. This will purely be a Windows 10 and Windows Phone feature.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.