Cortana for Android Revamped in UK; Update Coming to iOS Soon

Cortana, Microsoft's voice-based virtual assistant despite being highly skilled, has never received the kind of attention from users that Apple's Siri and Google Now, and Google Assistant enjoy.

In a move, which seems to aim at shaking things up a little, the Redmond-based company has now introduced a new UI design for its Android and iOS mobile apps with its latest update.

As of now, the company has only updated the Cortana app on Android but says that the iOS app will be updated "in coming weeks." Interestingly, the Cortana for Android and iOS updates have changed the primary colour on the mobile apps from blue to purple. Considering that Microsoft's virtual assistant had Blue as its primary colour since its launch, the company is seemingly trying to provide it with a fresh look. Apart from the change in primary colour the company has introduced several new changes to the UI to provide them with a "simplified look", as per the company.

"It's not just the look we've updated. The Cortana app is now faster so you can get what you need more quickly on the go," Microsoft said in its blog post.

Apart from the design changes, the company has also announced that the Cortana mobile apps for Android and iOS will now be made available in the UK as well. They were formerly only accessible in the US and China when launched in December last year.

The Cortana apps for Android and iOS allow users to set reminders, which are updated across platforms and help users remember their appointments. If users are unable to attend a call, the voice-based virtual assistant also sends back text to inform the contact that user is currently busy and will call back later. The Hey Cortana feature, similar to Ok Google, is only available on the Android platform.

The Cortana Android and iOS apps are coming to the UK currently. No details on further compatibility.

Download Cortana from the Google Play Store

Source: Windows Blog

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Google Testing 'Explore Interests' Feature to Further Personalise Google Now

Google Now could soon be providing you with the option to choose the categories, or key interests, for which you want to get regular updates as per reports. These categories are meant to allow users to track very specific fields to get regular updates and alerts regarding the same.

The categories that can be seen in the 'Explore Interests' section of leaked images and have come through are Sports, TV, Movies, Musicians, People, and Stocks. If anything happens in the chosen sport or to the person whom you chose to track, the update will come in the form of a Google Now card.

While the feature was spotted in the wild by Android Police, a Google spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the 'Interests' feature is experimental and that the interface is currently being tested. The spokesperson added that there was nothing to announce at this time.

Getting back to the feature, we see that Google Now will give suggestions based on the celebrities, sports or even movies that are popular in your local area.

Google Now's primary objective is to provide you information regarding the subjects that you like to track and the progress that Google's offering has made since its launch and the direction in which it seems to be heading, seems quite promising at the very least.

In the meanwhile, leaks have suggested that Google is revamping its Google Now Launcher that ships with Nexus devices and is also available via Google Play. In the lead-up to the launch of its Google Assistant, it seems as that the search giant is adding more functionality to Google Now.

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