Dubbed version 1.0.0.204, this iteration of the app allows Android users to set Cortana as their default personal assistant, which means that it’s possible to launch the app by holding down on the home button.
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Pressing the Home button on their smartphone, Android users will be able to decide whether to select Google Now or Cortana assistant for their queries.
Microsoft has updated its Cortana for Android beta app to enable it to replace Google Now. This build of Cortana has yet to support “Hey Cortana” and there are still other ways to access Google Now features if you really need it. This is owed to hardware incompatibility rather than any shortcomings in the software that runs Cortana.
If you’re so enamored with Cortana that you’d like to make it the default voice assistant on your Android phone… well, you’re probably going to make Microsoft very happy. After all, we found it a viable alternative in our Cortana for Android hands-on.
Cortana first shows up as a search box on the Windows 10 desktop screen, the “Ask me anything” bar that is one of the most visible new features to the Windows OS.
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Microsoft’s voice assistant, Cortana, is shaping up to be a great alternative to Google Now. The Android app did get leaked online and Microsoft decided to take the support further and released an updated version of Cortana yesterday. No word on when Cortana will be released but given its beta status, we’re hoping it won’t be too long. But Google’s app lets users point their mobile device’s camera at a sign, book or other object with text on it and watch as that text is automatically translated into the language of their choice. In its official blog, Microsoft said, the app allows quicker and easier translation, making “communication more seamless and personal”. You will require a Windows Insider account along with the Google account details that you use on your Android device.
