Cortana Public Beta Arrives On Android

Microsoft has made its Cortana voice-activated personal assistant available as a public beta for Android.

The service is available to download now from Google’s Play Store, where users can download a beta version of Cortana in order to try it out before a full-scale release later this year. However, it will only be available to Android users in the US for the time being.

Ready

Microsoft says that Cortana for Android, “can do most of the things Cortana does on your PC or on a Windows phone”, including setting and getting reminders, searching the web on-the-go, tracking important information such as flight details as well as starting and completing tasks across all of your devices.

The company says it has made a few adjustments to Cortana following the launch of an earlier closed beta test, including the ability to set Cortana as the destination for the home button press, meaning access to the service “is just a button-press away”.

However, the ability to toggle settings, open apps or open Cortana hands-free by saying “Hey Cortana” remain only available on Windows devices for now, although Microsoft says they may make an appearance in the future if user feedback demands it.

Microsoft first announced that Cortana would be coming to Android and iOS devices back in May, as part of its bid to get its software on as many mobile devices as possible alongside the launch of Windows 10 last month.

The service was then accidentally leaked in July, revealing a version bears a striking resemblance to Cortana on Windows Phone and Windows 10.

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