Microsoft’s Cortana is coming to iPhone in beta

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Cortana was named after a character from Halo 4
Cortana was originally named after a character from Halo.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has long been threatening to bring Cortana to iOS as a rival to Siri — and it’s almost ready for you to test it out.

The Redmond, WA company is currently accepting sign-ups for the Cortana beta, although you’ll have to live in either the U.S. or China to take advantage of the offer.

“We want help from our Windows Insiders to make sure she’s a great personal assistant on iOS too,” Microsoft notes. “We’re looking for a limited number of people to get their hands on an early version of the app.”

The beta includes support for reminders, scheduling events, and sending emails. Right now, you’ll need to fill in a survey to register your intent — but Microsoft has promised to make download links available soon.

And despite my joke about Microsoft “threatening” to bring Cortana to iOS, it’s actually a pretty darn great virtual assistant, so definitely worthwhile if you fulfil the eligibility criteria, and fancy getting your hands on it early.

Via: The Verge

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