Microsoft To Release Cortana As Standalone App For iOS and Android, Says Report

Microsoft could make Cortana - its virtual voice assistant - available for Android and iOS as a standalone app, according to a report by Reuters.

Cortana, currently is only available for Windows Phone devices and will make its debut on desktops with Windows 10 this autumn. The move to bring it on Android and iOS as a standalone app is an effort to put users first. Recently, the company made Office free for iOS and Android devices.

Microsoft plans to upgrade Cortana's features even more through research from an artificial intelligence project called "Einstein."

Reuters in its report noted that the new iteration of Cortana would double-down on her being less reactive, akin to iOS users needing to instigate Siri commands themselves, and more proactive.

"Cortana could tell a mobile phone user when to leave for the airport, days after it read an email and realized the user was planning a flight. It would automatically check flight status, determine where the phone is located using GPS, and checking traffic conditions."

 "This kind of technology, which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana, which we are working on now for the fall time frame," said Eric Horvitz, managing director of Microsoft Research and a part of the Einstein project, in an interview at the company's Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

However, the news is yet to be confirmed by Microsoft.