Cortana: Cross-Platform vs. Cross-Platform
Interestingly people are talking about the possibility of Cortana coming to other non-Windows Platforms as well as the possibility of having it come to other Windows based products like Windows 8.1 or Xbox.
The first isn't really all that surprising. They already released Office apps on competing mobile platforms, and that was by far a MUCH bigger deal than their digital assistant. But this isn't uncommon. Even less uncommon when a brand is not in a monopolistic state.
Look at BBM. It is already out on iOS and Android and coming to Windows Phone. Why would BlackBerry do this? To improve their image and their brand. In Microsoft's case it goes even further than that though. Some of their cross-platform apps come with benefits to them, whether it be in the form or ad revenue or subscription services. But, perhaps even more importantly, since they own software and hardware that spans many form factors from desktops, to laptops, to tablets to cell phones to name the major ones, you don't want to be seen to shunning the Windows desktop users who just happen to prefer an Android phone.
Your competitors will have similar services, and the last thing you want is for them to adbandon yours in favor of theirs.
Cortana is a similar story. It will have the brand affiliation with Microsoft. Once they release it on other platforms, people may find that they want on their phones the assistant they use on their tablet or laptop, etc... So it makes a lot of sense.
The also *plan* on gimping the iOS and Android versions relative to the Windows Phone version in an attempt to help use it as a lure to bring people from those platforms to WP. I say *plan* because I don't really feel like they have a choice. On their own platforms, the integration can go as deep into the OS as they desire. On a rival platform, there are some limitations based on API's available. So, even if they wanted feature parity, they are likely to hit API walls.
Digital assistants like Cortana, Siri and Google's equivalent aren't simply apps. They need to effectively be a part of the OS itself and come with frameworks and API's of their own that to fully unlock need to be exposed to other apps.
That being said, I'd like to move on to the other aspect of cross-platform. Cross-Windows platforms. Or perhaps Cross-NT Kernel is the correct wording. I REALLY hope this happens. And I really hope it is done right. By which I mean a desktop, or a laptop for that matter is a much more power hungry, always on, integrated system.
A Cortana for such a platform should be much more feature rich. In fact, via profile syncing I would expect having Cortana on multiple devices to indirectly add more functionality for each platform you have it running on. I should be able to interact with Cortana on one device, and where applicable have it take action on another Cortana based device. The tools available for managing and tweaking Cortana should be much more in depth on a desktop interface, but those changes should still be reflected on my phone, even if the settings aren't visible there.
On the other side of things, an Xbox is a much more focused machine than either a phone or a desktop. So, Cortana there should be focused more on the sorts of things the Xbox One specializes in. For instance, I should be able to get Cortana to buy and install a game when it becomes available, or have her scan for price changes in an App, Game, Movie or music I want to follow. If I want, she should analyze my watching habits on the TV and either offer to, or automatically follow my TV scheduled for me. So, if I always watch Big Bang Theory at 6pm, I should be able to choose to have Cortana automatically change the channel at 6pm if I'm watching TV, or perhaps remind me if I'm doing something else at the time (perhaps even on my phone or PC if I'm not currently using the Xbox).
While I was never a huge fan of Siri or Cortana or Google's solution... part of the problem was that they were islanded on your phone. A phone may be a big part someone's life, but phones don't cover everything we care about and there are typically good apps out there already to deal with the things phones are good at. These sorts of things start to become game changers when they can interact with multiple devices. When data can be collected on one device and used to drive meaningful change in another.
Here is another interesting potential scenario. Let's say when I get home, I relax and catch up on the news. Using geo-fencing, my phone can determine when I'm getting home from the office (rather than simply getting back from groceries or some other activity). If it could then turn on my Xbox as I get within a certain range from my home, find a local or other news station, turn on the TV and switch to that channel, it could be ready for me when I get home. If there's not going to be any news on at the time I should be getting home, then perhaps Cortana could review my TV history and present me with some alternate options. And if Cortana doesn't find anything I want to watch, I can ask about whether a particular show is on, or what's on a certain channel or decide to have her leave the console off if there isn't anything.
That sort of interaction wouldn't be possible with just a phone or just an Xbox or just Cortana on one of those devices. But, suddenly, by having multiple Cortana-enabled devices linked to the same account, it becomes possible in theory to start making both devices more capable than they were on their own.
I really hope we start seeing something like this. But only time will tell.
The first isn't really all that surprising. They already released Office apps on competing mobile platforms, and that was by far a MUCH bigger deal than their digital assistant. But this isn't uncommon. Even less uncommon when a brand is not in a monopolistic state.
Look at BBM. It is already out on iOS and Android and coming to Windows Phone. Why would BlackBerry do this? To improve their image and their brand. In Microsoft's case it goes even further than that though. Some of their cross-platform apps come with benefits to them, whether it be in the form or ad revenue or subscription services. But, perhaps even more importantly, since they own software and hardware that spans many form factors from desktops, to laptops, to tablets to cell phones to name the major ones, you don't want to be seen to shunning the Windows desktop users who just happen to prefer an Android phone.
Your competitors will have similar services, and the last thing you want is for them to adbandon yours in favor of theirs.
Cortana is a similar story. It will have the brand affiliation with Microsoft. Once they release it on other platforms, people may find that they want on their phones the assistant they use on their tablet or laptop, etc... So it makes a lot of sense.
The also *plan* on gimping the iOS and Android versions relative to the Windows Phone version in an attempt to help use it as a lure to bring people from those platforms to WP. I say *plan* because I don't really feel like they have a choice. On their own platforms, the integration can go as deep into the OS as they desire. On a rival platform, there are some limitations based on API's available. So, even if they wanted feature parity, they are likely to hit API walls.
Digital assistants like Cortana, Siri and Google's equivalent aren't simply apps. They need to effectively be a part of the OS itself and come with frameworks and API's of their own that to fully unlock need to be exposed to other apps.
That being said, I'd like to move on to the other aspect of cross-platform. Cross-Windows platforms. Or perhaps Cross-NT Kernel is the correct wording. I REALLY hope this happens. And I really hope it is done right. By which I mean a desktop, or a laptop for that matter is a much more power hungry, always on, integrated system.
A Cortana for such a platform should be much more feature rich. In fact, via profile syncing I would expect having Cortana on multiple devices to indirectly add more functionality for each platform you have it running on. I should be able to interact with Cortana on one device, and where applicable have it take action on another Cortana based device. The tools available for managing and tweaking Cortana should be much more in depth on a desktop interface, but those changes should still be reflected on my phone, even if the settings aren't visible there.
On the other side of things, an Xbox is a much more focused machine than either a phone or a desktop. So, Cortana there should be focused more on the sorts of things the Xbox One specializes in. For instance, I should be able to get Cortana to buy and install a game when it becomes available, or have her scan for price changes in an App, Game, Movie or music I want to follow. If I want, she should analyze my watching habits on the TV and either offer to, or automatically follow my TV scheduled for me. So, if I always watch Big Bang Theory at 6pm, I should be able to choose to have Cortana automatically change the channel at 6pm if I'm watching TV, or perhaps remind me if I'm doing something else at the time (perhaps even on my phone or PC if I'm not currently using the Xbox).
While I was never a huge fan of Siri or Cortana or Google's solution... part of the problem was that they were islanded on your phone. A phone may be a big part someone's life, but phones don't cover everything we care about and there are typically good apps out there already to deal with the things phones are good at. These sorts of things start to become game changers when they can interact with multiple devices. When data can be collected on one device and used to drive meaningful change in another.
Here is another interesting potential scenario. Let's say when I get home, I relax and catch up on the news. Using geo-fencing, my phone can determine when I'm getting home from the office (rather than simply getting back from groceries or some other activity). If it could then turn on my Xbox as I get within a certain range from my home, find a local or other news station, turn on the TV and switch to that channel, it could be ready for me when I get home. If there's not going to be any news on at the time I should be getting home, then perhaps Cortana could review my TV history and present me with some alternate options. And if Cortana doesn't find anything I want to watch, I can ask about whether a particular show is on, or what's on a certain channel or decide to have her leave the console off if there isn't anything.
That sort of interaction wouldn't be possible with just a phone or just an Xbox or just Cortana on one of those devices. But, suddenly, by having multiple Cortana-enabled devices linked to the same account, it becomes possible in theory to start making both devices more capable than they were on their own.
I really hope we start seeing something like this. But only time will tell.
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