Mobile

Here’s how Microsoft’s Cortana runs on desktop Windows 10 (VIDEO)

Here’s how Microsoft’s Cortana runs on desktop Windows 10 (VIDEO)

Alexandra Burlacu

Microsoft's latest Windows 10 has everyone curious about how it fares and a new video now shows Cortana running the OS in a pre-release version.

Cortana is Microsoft's own digital assistant and answer to Apple's Siri and Google Now, and it arrived a while back for Windows Phone. The software reached the U.S. in beta, followed by China and the UK, also in beta, and a few days ago it hit Italy, France, Germany, and Spain in alpha mode. All of these versions, however, are for Microsoft's mobile OS - Windows Phone.

It was only a matter of time before Cortana hit the desktop as well, albeit Microsoft never made any such plans official. Thanks to an intriguing new video, we now have an idea of how Cortana would work on Windows 10.

The folks over at WinBeta have published a neat video and some screenshots of Cortana running on Windows 10, as they have access to a pre-release version of the digital assistant.

"It's been months since the Windows Technical Preview launched to the public, and we're still yet to see Cortana running on the desktop. We've known about her being present in Windows 10 for a while now, even before the first public build of the operating system yet we've still not seen her in action. Well, here at WinBeta, we've got access to Cortana running on Windows 10, and we want to give you a first quick look," the publication explains.

"From the get go, Cortana can do pretty much everything the Windows Phone version can. This includes reminders, call people with skype, check my location/maps, play/pause music, launch apps, check the weather and more. Right now, Cortana doesn't have a personality in Windows 10, meaning she doesn't answer questions like 'Who are you', however we have it on good authority that she will have this ability by the time she rolls out to the public."

As WinBeta points out, this version of Cortana seen in the screenshot and video is not the final product ready for public release. The UI and "many other things" are still in progress, and Cortana is expected to look and perform much better by the time she's ready for public consumption.

Lastly, it's worth highlighting that Cortana will be the first virtual assistant of its kind to go beyond the mobile scene and reach a desktop operating system by default, beating Siri and Google Now to the punch.

It remains to be seen just how it will all fare when it becomes officially available, but you can check out the pre-release video below in the meantime.

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