Microsoft has rolled out a major update to its Cortana app beta for Android, allowing beta testers to activate its smart digital assistant simply by saying "Hey Cortana."
Version 1.0.0.289 is now available to all users who have the beta app installed on their Android phones. Aside from the usual bug fixes and performance tweaks, the update's marquee feature is the ability to allow users to call on Cortana simply by using her famous hotword. By saying "Hey Cortana," users can then go on to make the assistant do things, such as search for something or create a note.
To enable this feature, users simply have to open the Settings option in the Cortana app and check the box that says "Hey Cortana."
The feature is very similar to Google's "OK Google" hotword used to activate Google Now, which may suggest that Cortana could be slowly taking over Google's turf with the inclusion of this major new feature. However, that's not likely to happen anytime soon, since Cortana for Android still has several limitations in terms of reach while Google Now has access to most parts of a user's Android system.
Moreover, "Hey Cortana" currently only works if users first unlock their phones or if Cortana for Android is already open. That means, voice activation is not yet a completely hands-free experience, since users still have to make a few swipes and taps before fully activating Microsoft's digital assistant.
The problem is not unique to Cortana. 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.
Still, with Cortana proving to be a promising contender in the battle of smart digital assistants, it's worth noting that Microsoft is stepping up its game across all platforms, instead of restricting all its best features to Windows 10 Mobile and its Lumia phones. Microsoft is also planning on bringing Cortana to iOS in the future, though we imagine, with Apple's stringent requirements for app developers, going up against Siri will be more of a challenge than taking on Google Now.
