Isn’t it nice to see companies compete with one another in a particular market segment or space? It makes life all the more exciting for the end users, especially in an environment where the competition is healthy. When it comes to digital assistants, Apple has their Siri, and Microsoft’s upcoming Cortana has been spoken about pretty much, with the Microsoft Program Manager, Marcus Ash, sharing over Twitter that Cortana will be made available in the United Kingdom and in China “very soon”. The operating keywords here happen to be weeks instead of months. We did hear about how Microsoft’s Cortana will be updated twice a month in order to make sure it remains relevant as much as possible to all of Cortana’s users, not to mention a hint of it arriving in the Netherlands soon. Will it be as soon as the UK and China’s release? Only time will be able to tell.
We’ve heard the rumors, and Windows Phone teased recently that Cortana would be coming to the UK “soon”. Nobody knew how soon, but it appears soon means sooner than you think. Marcus Ash, Group Program Manager for Cortana on Windows Phone has today confirmed that Cortana will be rolling out to the UK and China within the coming weeks, not months. This is great news for customers outside the United States, who have so far been unable to use the new personal assistant on Windows Phone 8.1. Ash recently commented on the idea of launching Cortana on other platforms, and stressed that it would not happen until Cortana was stable and global on Windows Phone. Cortana didn’t launch outside of the US in April because it wasn’t ready. Cortana struggled to understand the British accent, and I would imagine Microsoft wasn’t, and still isn’t done with programming her to understand other languages. Launching Cortana in the UK and China is that first step in becoming global, and we’re excited to finally see it happening. Now that it’s official, are you excited? Cortana will be rolling out to the UK and China in the coming weeks, hopefully before the end of this month. Until then, you can check out alternative ways to enable Cortana on your device outside the US, or you can wait for it to officially launch.
