Cortana Beta Version Heading to Android in July
When Microsoft announced Windows 10 earlier this month, the company indicated its plans to become more open to other platforms such as Android on mobile. During the E3 2015, Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 was arriving on their gaming console, the Xbox One in July. A day after this revelation, they subsequently announced that their personal digital assistant, Cortana, is heading to the Android ecosystem within July.
According to a report in Tech Times, Microsoft announced through an official Windows blog post that a beta version of the personal digital assistant software will be available for Android devices next month. This is well ahead of the release of the newest version of the Windows 10 operating system for PC and tablets, which is on July 29.
Cortana is an "intelligent personal assistant," much like Apple's Siri and Google Now, developed by Microsoft for Windows Phone 8.1 and Microsoft Band, and initially launched in 2014. In a recent announcement about Windows 10, the company also confirmed that Cortana will also be featured in Windows 10, iOS, Android and the Xbox One.
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Marcus Ash, program manager for Cortana announced the arrival of the beta version in a blog post.
"At Microsoft, our vision for a powerful digital assistant means it is personalized and available to you everywhere, whether you're on-the-go with the device you carry with you, in your office, where you need to be highly productive, or even in your home, where you relax, play, and are entertained," he said.
"In a multi-device world this means allowing Cortana to move with you between your environments multiple times a day," Ash added.
There is a catch however. Unlike the way Cortana functions on a Windows Phone 8.1, not all its features will be included in the version for the Android, but according to the report, will "offer more than enough assistance to tie experiences together across devices."
In another report in Android Police, it said that the Cortana app on Android will be "working as a companion to Cortana on a Windows 10 PC," which may mean that the app's usage may be limited to those with Windows 10 on their PCs and not with older Windows OS. There will also be functions of the new app that are very specific to Microsoft's software ecosystem.
"On your Android phone you can ask Cortana to remind you to walk the dog at 8pm in the evening, and then when you're watching a movie your Xbox will interrupt playback to let you know it's time to take the dog out," the blog post stated.
