Microsoft is mulling whether or not to bring the Cortana voice-controlled virtual assistant to the iOS and Android mobile platforms.
Microsoft is reportedly deciding whether providing the service to its own multi-platform users outweighs the competitive advantage that the company can gain by offering the Cortana exclusively for the Windows Phone.
"It's a bit of a head-scratcher for us right now," said Windows Phone group program manager Marcus Ash when asked about the company's plans for Cortana at a marketing conference held in Seattle.
Windows PC users of Cortana, for example, would feel a disconnect when they have an Android phone or an Apple tablet that doesn't have Cortana installed. Microsoft thinks that it could be more convenient for users to have a complete Cortana experience among all the users' devices.
However, if Cortana can be found in all devices, that could be one less reason for consumers to buy Windows Phone devices as compared to iOS and Android smartphones.
"It's interesting to think about the future of these assistants and whether they become a reason to buy into the ecosystem. That is the other tension we have. If you play this out five to ten years, and these assistants become the reason you choose Android or iOS or Windows, then what's our position? Could Cortana be the thing that, as a Windows user, (makes me feel like) I've got to get a Windows phone?"
If Microsoft does decide to bring the Cortana to iOS and Android devices, the software will probably not be instantly integrated and accepted.
There is the difficulty of adjusting Cortana to work with the hardware of competing devices, which Microsoft has no control over. Rob Chambers, Microsoft Research group program manager, cited the example of requiring the phone to run in a specific low-power state so that Cortana can be quickly activated.
The Cortana is the direct competitor of Apple's Siri, which is a similarly voice-controlled virtual assistant, and Google's Google Now, which assists users by providing them information before they need it and is available on both iOS and Android.
Microsoft, however, has faced and overcome a similar scenario in the past, when the company opened its Bing search engine and Office applications to all operating systems.
Cortana is currently still in preview only for Windows Phone 8.1, with rumors that Microsoft will also release the virtual assistant program on desktop Windows, and eventually, on the Xbox.
One possibility where Microsoft can first introduce Cortana outside of the company's platform ecosystem is on Microsoft's Android-based Nokia X phones.
