People have speculated for some time that Cortana would eventually make it onto rival platforms, but now the news is official. From the launch of Windows 10 this summer, you will be able to use Cortana on Windows computers, tablets and phones as well as Android devices and iPhones.
The announcement is contained in a new video featuring Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore. He initially introduces a new “Phone Companion” app that will be included with every Windows 10 install and will make it easier to download Microsoft apps onto Android and iOS devices.
After introducing Phone Companion, the focus moves to Cortana. Belfiore announces the digital assistant will be made available as an app for iOS and Android from this summer and shows the new Cortana app actually in use on an Android phone. The move will expand Microsoft’s presence in the smartphone world with a powerful new feature previously reserved for Windows Phone devices.
In doing so, Microsoft can push its services onto the largest platforms in the world. Unfortunately, it has also lost its single remaining aspect of exclusivity for Windows Phone as one of its most important and most powerful features will now be available on the devices of its rivals too.
It remains to be seen how powerful Cortana will be on iOS and Android as Microsoft may not be able to get her the same low-level access as she has on Windows Phone. The company may also choose to reserve some features for Windows devices in order to reassure an increasingly vocal community that the company’s own fans are still appreciated.
Microsoft has mocked Siri repetitively in a series of videos with Cortana in which the latter consistently poked fun at the other. Now, Cortana has actually moved into Siri’s own home — and Google Now’s too — presumably with the eventual aim of evicting them both from their own land.
