Leaked Screenshots Show WP8.1′s Cortana Digital Assistant in All Its Glory

It’s no secret that when it comes to digital assistants, Windows Phone is sorely lacking in comparison to Google Now and Apple’s Siri—but let’s not be too quick to count Microsoft out of that arena permanently. Windows 8.1 code name Blue is rumored to hit manufacturers this month and users in April, and with it we’ll see Microsoft’s attempts at taking on the already mature digital assistant market.

So far, we don’t know much about Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant. In fact, it’s not even known whether this code name will be preserved in the final shipping version. But thanks to a leaked screenshot posted on the Verge earlier today, we can catch a glimpse of a few of the upcoming tool’s capabilities.

For starters, Cortana seems to incorporate some elements of Siri by allowing users to define what they’d like to be called. And similar to Google Now, Cortana can scan your emails to track flights and other relevant information. This information will presumably be used as part of “Cortana suggestions,” which we can assume will display context-relevant information—highly ironic given Microsoft’s vitriolic Scroogled campaign.

Is Microsoft far too late to the game with Cortana, or will this be enough to push those on the fence into WP territory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

[Source: TheVerge]

source: xdadevelopers