In a bid to better compete in the mobile segment, Microsoft is making its apps and services accessible to users of rival devices that have apparently turned out to be more popular than the software giant's own Windows Phone offerings.
Microsoft is all set to bring its digital assistant, Cortana to iOS and Android, the tech giant officially confirmed on Tuesday, May 26. Microsoft plans to release separate apps for each mobile OS in order to enable Cortana to run outside of Windows.
The software giant teased those apps on Tuesday; however it noted that users will be able to make the same queries as well as ask the same questions using Cortana across Windows, iOS, or Android.
That being said, Cortana on iOS or Android will comparatively less powerful than the Windows variant, citing various integrations, Microsoft is still providing notification support. Users will be notified for sports results, flights and most of the Cortana features that exist in the Windows Phone and Windows 10 versions of the digital assistant right now, according to records on The Verge.
Windows 10 will feature an app called the Phone Companion that's designed to help Windows 10 to work better with smartphones. In order to install Microsoft's range of phone apps onto an iOS or Anrdoid handset, user simply needs to plug the device into a Windows 10 machine.
Cortana and Music will soon be joining a slew of apps including Office, OneNote, OneDrive, Skype and Outlook. This app will soon be available in a new Insider Preview of Windows 10 which is slated to ship in the next few weeks, according to Ars Technica.
The idea is to make sure that Microsoft's set of synchronized services are always accessible. Basically, if users have a picture, song or a document on their PC, it should be available and useable on their phone too and the other way around. To achieve this, some features that are currently Windows-only, including Music's support for playing music from OneDrive, will be added to the iOS and Android app.
Microsoft's Edge browser with its Cortana integration, on the other hand will remain Windows-only as the tech giant does not intend to make the browser cross-platform.
In addition, Cortana won't offer voice activation and other convenient features, which may make it less appealing. Both Google Now and Siri are designed to act in response to users' commands, answer question and provide information. Google Now is also available for iOS devices as it is incorporated into the Google app.
Moreover, users will also not be able to use Cortana to open apps or change settings in the Android or iOS editions. The ability to user Cortana hands free by saying "Hey Cortana" will be limited to the Windows Phone and Windows 10 PC versions only.
