Cortana, Windows 10 Integration Coming To iOS And Android Phones
Microsoft seems serious about accommodating Android and iOS user when Windows 10 comes out later this year. The company announced this morning that it has an app that will help users access Windows 10 and Office features on their smartphones, regardless of platform.
At first glance, the Phone Companion app looks fairly slick. You choose your phone operating system (Android, iOS, or Windows) and then follow the instructions to get various apps on your phone. Some of those apps will look familiar, like OneDrive, Skype, Word and Excel. But some new features will also be available, including Cortana, which is Microsoft’s Siri-like digital assistant.
Windows phones already have Cortana, who will be expanding to the PC when Windows 10 arrives. Making Cortana available for Android and iOS phones is an interesting strategy. If you have Siri on your iPhone, are you likely to use Cortana instead? The answer to that will probably depend on how much you rely on other Microsoft products, like Windows 10 and Microsoft Office.
If you install all of the apps on your phone, “All your files and content will be magically available on your PC and your phone,” Microsoft said in its announcement of the Phone Companion. That will include the Music app when it launches in the near future.
Microsoft plans to have the Phone Companion app out in a few weeks. You can take a sneak peak at it by downloading a preview version of Windows 10 through the Windows Insider feedback program.
At first glance, the Phone Companion app looks fairly slick. You choose your phone operating system (Android, iOS, or Windows) and then follow the instructions to get various apps on your phone. Some of those apps will look familiar, like OneDrive, Skype, Word and Excel. But some new features will also be available, including Cortana, which is Microsoft’s Siri-like digital assistant.
Windows phones already have Cortana, who will be expanding to the PC when Windows 10 arrives. Making Cortana available for Android and iOS phones is an interesting strategy. If you have Siri on your iPhone, are you likely to use Cortana instead? The answer to that will probably depend on how much you rely on other Microsoft products, like Windows 10 and Microsoft Office.
If you install all of the apps on your phone, “All your files and content will be magically available on your PC and your phone,” Microsoft said in its announcement of the Phone Companion. That will include the Music app when it launches in the near future.
Microsoft plans to have the Phone Companion app out in a few weeks. You can take a sneak peak at it by downloading a preview version of Windows 10 through the Windows Insider feedback program.
