As it stands, Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant program is limited to the Windows Phone platform at the moment. Sure, there are rumors about how it could eventually make its way onto the PC and Xbox platforms, which in all honesty doesn’t seem like a stretch of the imagination, but what about the possibility about arriving on iOS and Android? Would that be possible?
When speaking at the SMX advanced conference, Microsoft’s Group Program Manager for Windows Phone, Marcus Ash, was asked if Cortana would make its way onto other platforms eventually, he revealed that this is an area that Microsoft is currently discussing, meaning that it looks like Microsoft isn’t completely closed off to the idea yet.
According to Ash, “We want to scale Cortana internationally and across devices. The Android/iOS question is interesting. We’re asking, would Cortana be as effective if she didn’t have access to the details on your phone? We’re still trying to get Cortana adopted on Windows Phone and figure out what it wants to become there. But we’re actively talking about this.”
Since Microsoft developed both Windows Phone and Cortana, naturally they are able to integrate it better and give it more access to your phone than a third-party developer could. We’re pretty sure Apple will not allow Cortana the same level of permissions, although Android could be a different story.
That being said, Ash also added that voice assistants could be the reason why people choose certain platforms, and that if it leads to people choosing Windows Phone just for Cortana, they’d definitely keep it there, simply because it would draw more users in, but what do you guys think? Could Microsoft eventually cave like BlackBerry did with BBM?
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