We all know that Microsoft‘s digital assistant, Cortana and Apple‘s equivalent, Siri, are fierce competitors. So much so, in fact, that Microsoft has even mocked the rivalry in an advertisement for Cortana.
So you can imagine our surprise when we heard that there are rumours doing the rounds that Cortana may soon be available on iOS – and for good measure, on Android, too!
According to a report by Reuters, Microsoft is planning on making Cortana available as a stand alone app that both iOS and Android users will be able to download.
The report comes with the announcement that Microsoft is developing more features for Cortana. Eric Horvitz, managing director at Microsoft Research, said in an interview with Reuters that the company has been making Cortana “˜smarter‘ and that soon she will be able to read, understand and notify you of your emails.
“œWe’re defining the competitive landscape [sic]… of who can provide the most supportive services that make life easier, keep track of things, that complement human memory in a way that helps us get things done,” Horvitz said.
Horvitz also revealed that Microsoft is integrating their artificial intelligence project – aptly called “œEinstein“ – into the further development of Cortana. The research done by “˜Einstein‘, will directly contribute to Cortana being “˜smarter‘.
While Reuters did conduct an interview with Horvitz, it was not Horvitz himself that admitted to Cortana being developed as a stand alone app. Reuters site a source “œfamiliar to the project“.
One never knows how legitimate these sources “œfamiliar with the project“ are, but, if it does turn out to be true, it would be a rather strange move from Microsoft.
Both Apple and Google are very adamant about the the exclusivity of their digital assistants – Siri and Google Now – on their devices. It would be strange to think that you could use Cortana on an iPhone.
But, on the other hand, by making Cortana available cross-platform, Microsoft could generate more money from external downloads.
We will have to wait and see if these speculations turn out to be true. Cortana is said to be a big feature in the new Windows update, Windows 1 and is currently available on Windows phone 8.1 – so perhaps they will launch the stand alone Cortana app alongside Windows 10 in the Spring.
Source: Mashable
