Microsoft’s Cortana: Silent in the Consumer Electronics Show 2018
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The yearly Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 is an excellent opportunity for an early glimpse of this year’s incoming devices, and Microsoft’s Cortana cannot be found. Unfortunately, in the gathering of tech companies from around the world, it was left behind by Alexa and Google Assistant. This year’s CES was centered at improving communications from smart home devices to gadgets, producing cars with more personal feels and installing screens to every place possible.
After the Cortana-powered thermostat was announcement last year, there were no newly released Cortana gadgets at the CES 2018. Microsoft remained silent as Google made it sure it was ready to compete with Amazon’s Alexa. Alexa is coming on headphones, smartwatches, cars, and TVs, thus bragging that they will allow direct control even of microwaves and ovens. Google Assistant, on the other hand, is also expected on headphones, TVs, and Android Auto. Google launched a new Smart Display platform that comes with its Assistant.
After initially introduced on Windows Phones last 2014, Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant was limited only to Windows 10 PCs. Amazon challenged Microsoft after the claim of Cortana’s 141 million monthly users. The four PC manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, Acer, and Asus are all planning on bringing Alexa to their Windows 10 devices.
Microsoft has demonstrated how Cortana can control speakers, fridges, cars, thermostats, and toasters. But people have seen that only Harman Kardon Invoke wireless speaker and Johnson Controls GLAS thermostats have used Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant. Instead, Microsoft promises that there will be more to come soon. In fact, Microsoft announced a new partnership with Ecobee, Geeni, Honeywell, IFTTT, LIFX, and TP-Link in addition to their currently supported home automation partners.
In the GeekWire interview, the corporate vice president of Cortana engineering, Andrew Shuman, explained that it takes a lengthy campaign to make an actual assistant that can connect with you and is approachable, engaging, and more improved than the usual assistant. From today’s blog post, Microsoft executives insist that they are not giving up on Cortana, and people will continue to see Cortana integrated into their favorite devices.
While more and more devices chose Alexa and Google Assistant, Cortana is being left behind. Simply put, Microsoft lacks the mobile, smart home, and digital speaker footprint for Cortana.
It is not only Microsoft’s Cortana that is left behind in the realm of voice assistant technology. Apple’s Siri has firmly remained in the iPhone company devices. Analyst Ben Bajarin pointed out that Apple has an indirect presence at the CES since, and this year, the war is between Alexa and Google Assistant that dominated the platform.
Millions of users now prefer to use voice-activated speakers in controlling their smart devices from home, playing music, and accessing online information such as weather forecasts. Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google, and Siri have become the face of voice technology. It’s a trend that is growing, and Apple and Microsoft must be able to come up with something new to pace up in the competition.
