Microsoft is starting to reinstate some features into its talkative voice assistant, Cortana. The Redmond-based company has stripped away a slew of features that were available with the Google Assistant rival since its launch with Windows 10, including the ability to set timers and integrate with Android handsets running the Cortana companion app.
Windows 10 users were never completely sold on the chatty AI assistant and the deep integration it enjoyed in the part-desktop, part-tablet operating system. Cortana caused some controversy at launch when it was discovered the friendly assistant was recording your every keystroke in Windows 10 in a bid to help Microsoft tweak future updates to improve the experience for users.
Coupled with the ability to raise Cortana with the wake phrase “Hey, Cortana” (Microsoft later dropped the “Hey” in an update) which meant Windows 10 had to be listening for the phrase as you worked, left many users feeling under surveillance by their own laptops.
But stripping Cortana of much of this functionality in later updates might not have been a sign Microsoft was responding to the controversies by scaling back its AI voice assistant. Rather, it seems the Windows 10 creator was simply taking time to regroup. The US technology giant is now in the process of building-up its handsfree virtual assistant to its former glory, and presumably, new capabilities to keep it competitive.
Microsoft has started to roll-out a new Cortana Beta upgrade for Windows 10 users – bringing it to version 2.1912.18729.0 – which starts to rebuild many of the features that had been lost over the years. Included in the new update is the ability to suggest tasks.
This feature, which is not ready to use yet according to Microsoft-centric blog MSPowerUser, divides your To Do list into three categories: Found, Active and History. Cortana will try to intelligently sort any requested tasks into the correct category, which could be handy for anyone who struggles to keep track of their ongoing To Do list.
Microsoft has brought back the ability to summon Cortana using a wake word. As mentioned above, this was already possible with the original Cortana app. While you won’t have to use “Hey” before the AI assistant’s name, like the original version of Windows 10 stipulated, there’s no provision to set your own wake word yet – to the disappointment of any 2001: A Space Odysessy fans who were hoping to set timers by asking Hal.
Microsoft has tweaked the Settings page for the Cortana (Beta) app. The spring clean introduces a hamburger menu to squirrel away some of the less-frequently accessed features, including Permissions and Privacy settings.
If you’re interested in seeing how far Cortana has come along – or rather, how much Cortana has been restored – users should be aware that Microsoft has dropped support for older versions of Windows 10 with this new upgrade. So those avoiding the latest update to the hugely-popular operating system (perhaps because of the ongoing issues with the Start Menu) will miss out.
You can now download Cortana (Beta) only on Windows 10 PCs with a build 19023 or newer.