Do you have an Android device or an iPhone, but you’ve always wanted to check out Cortana on a mobile device? Now, you’ve got your chance to do it!
Today, Microsoft shared the news on its blog that Cortana has been released for both Android and iOS. You’ll find the iOS version here; the Android version here. Currently, these versions of Cortana are only available in the US and China. If you want to run the virtual assistant on either platform, you’ll need to make sure you’re running iOS 8 and above for Apple, or Android 4.1.2 and higher if you’re using and Android device.
The downside to using Cortana on either of these two platforms is that they are more limited than if you were running it on a Windows device. Specifically, it can’t perform some of the device-specific commands that Siri allows on iOS or Google Now allows on Android.
Also, there’s more limitation of what it’s able to predict, since it isn’t able to access things like your mail on non-Windows devices to form its suggestions. As disappointing as these limitations sound, it makes sense why it can’t do what it can on it’s native hardware. There is more to read on Cortana’s limitations if you check out Danny Sullivan’s post on the subject: How Google Now, Siri & Cortana Predict What You Want.
Not only has Cortana been released for Android and iOS, but it has also been release for Cyanogen, a mobile OS that’s based off Android code, and sometimes even carries the Android branding, since it meets Google’s compatibility requirements.