In the run-up to Windows Phone 8.1’s announcement at the start of April, we heard that Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Siri and Google Now, would take elements of both pre-existing voice assistants and combine them into the best all-round voice feature in the mobile industry. Since the BUILD dev conference, we’ve heard a great deal about how wonderful Cortana supposedly is, although until we’ve seen it up against its two major adversaries, there’s no telling just how it holds up. With the release of the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 today, though, we finally get to see first-hand if Cortana can compete with its more established peers, and the Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now video embedded below reveals all!
Those who played Halo on Xbox or PC will be more than familiar with the ‘Cortana’ moniker, which was the name of the Master Chief‘s personified voice assistant. As was the case in the game, we’ve been led to believe that Cortana is a lot more “humanized” than either Siri or Google Now, harnessing the ability to hold realistic conversations.
After hearing from Microsoft developers, who spoke shortly after the Windows Phone 8.1 announcement, that Cortana has so many strengths over Siri, the interest of the tech world – as well as the wider audience – has been well and truly piqued, and this first glimpse of Cortana against Siri and Google Now gives us a teaser of a battle that will no doubt intensify thanks to the introduction of the Redmond’s effort.
So, how does Cortana actually fare in this, one of the first comparison videos we’ve been able to see? Well, in actual fact, it more than holds its own, and although Windows Phone is still quite some distance behind both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, Satya Nadella’s men appear to have the voice assistant part pretty much nailed.
I won’t go on and spoil the video, which is embedded below, but suffice to say, there’s no clear ‘winner’ here just yet, and each seems more than capable of providing a decent experience to consumers.
After seeing this clip, which of the Big Three do you prefer? Do be sure to share your comments below!
(Source: Gizmodo)
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