A report from Reuters claims that Microsoft will be bringing its “personal assistant” Cortana, which is currently found in Windows Phone and in Windows 10 later this year, to iOS and Android devices as a standalone app. Microsoft is also developing an advanced version of Cortana –codenamed “Einstein” — that relies on artificial intelligence to automatically provide relevant information to users depending on the time or location. The upcoming version of Cortana will rely heavily on the location of its user, the time, and the task that they are trying to accomplish for its success. Microsoft has long been known only for its Windows OS for PCs and Office suite of productivity applications. Its other major projects like Windows Phone and Surface tablets have failed to gain traction. However, under its new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has a renewed focus and is trying to push its apps and services across all platforms rather than only integrating them with its own operating systems. By bringing Cortana to millions of iOS and Android users, Microsoft will also be able to collect more data to improve the performance of its digital assistant.
