Those in the game for the beta version of the app can easily use Hey Cortana instead of OK Google to bring up the virtual assistant and ask it to do tasks for you.
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The arrival of the new feature (via WinBeta) allows Cortana to go head-to-head with Google’s own “Hey Google” service on Android devices, making it possibile for users to choose between the two. When you say “Hey Cortana” on the Windows Phone, the personal assistant wakes the phone, even if the phone is locked.
Without the option to use Hey Cortana when the Android smartphone is locked, the feature is of little use on an Android phone. Cortana is (or will be) available for all desktop and mobile platforms, according to Microsoft, and it will provide a unified search experience for all its users, across all devices.
Since, the phone needs to be unlocked, Hey Cortana barely serves for objective. There also aren’t very many phones that have support for Google’s “OK Google” hotword because it requires device-specific drivers, which means many Android users on Google Now still have to unlock their phone screens to activate Google Now via voice.
As Android Central notes, fire up the latest beta version fo Cortana for Android and dig into the settings and you’ll find an option to enable “Hey Cortana”.
For example, in our limited testing on an LG G4 running Android 5.1, active voice recognition doesn’t work every time even when the Cortana app is open.
While Cortana for Android is still in its beta stage, a number of features may not work as expected. However, for the Android platform, calling her by her name back when the beta app was first released will yield to a silent response.
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