Microsoft will start testing Cortana on Android in July

Microsoft will start a beta of Cortana for Android devices in July. The app appears as a ‘companion for Windows 10 PCs’, but whether Microsoft means that the app only works in combination with Windows 10 is not clear.

“The beta of the Cortana app for Android phones will be available in July for testing as a companion to Windows 10 PCs,” Microsoft wrote. It therefore seems that Android users, at least initially, must have a Windows 10 system in order to use the personal assistant. When the iOS version of Cortana will appear, Microsoft is not yet saying.

Microsoft did provide more details about the arrival of Cortana to the Xbox One. That will happen in the fall, but only to Xbox One users in the US and UK. The personal assistant then works in combination with the Microsoft Account, so that, for example, the Notebook with reminders, contacts and locations is shared across the Xbox One, phone and PC.

Xbox One users can use voice-activated Cortana to invite friends to play, record gameplay, and get information about games. If the reminder to walk the dog at 8 p.m. is created via an Android device, the Xbox One will stop a movie at that time to remind you that it is time for that walk, Microsoft gives as an example.

Microsoft announced at the end of May that it was bringing Cortana to Android and iOS.