Microsoft's Marcus Ash has stalled speculations of Cortana coming to any mobile OS other than Windows Phone by confirming that it was just a thought and the company has no plans of an Android or iOS debut.
Microsoft may have several things in store for its Cortana digital assistant, but it sure has no plans to launch the feature on iOS or Android platforms. Marcus Ash, Microsoft's Group Program Manager for Windows Phone, started the speculations of the possibility of Cortana coming to Android or iOS during the SMX Advanced conference last week. But now, Ash has spoken on the same topic again, but not to promote the possibility of expanding Cortana to third party mobile operating systems.
To clear the air about the subject, Ash took to his Twitter account to reveal that Cortana will stay within the boundaries of Windows Phone platform for as long as the company wants. He further assured that plans to introduce Cortana on Android and iOS was merely a thought and never an intended plan.
The post clearing the air about Cortana's Android/iOS debut was brought to light by WPCentral Saturday, after Ash posted his detailed comment in a post on the site. He broke down the giant post into series of tweets. Before commenting on the Android/iOS question, Ash tweeted the future plans for Cortana on Windows Phone.
1. Our top priority is to make Cortana great for #WindowsPhone customers. Get her out to more countries, continuing to push innovation.
— Marcus Ash (@marcusash) June 14, 2014
5. In a future state, the best experience will still be for #Microsoft customers that own all #Windows devices. Best work is on our devices. — Marcus Ash (@marcusash) June 14, 2014
Only after laying down the roadmap for Cortana, Ash revealed that Cortana's entry to devices other than Windows Phone were only thoughts.
6. Only after we execute on #1 - #5 do we consider #Cortana anywhere other than Windows devices which are only thoughts/questions, no plans.
— Marcus Ash (@marcusash) June 14, 2014
It is a sensible decision as Cortana is still being tested and is limited to the US audience.
"Our top priority and showcase device for Cortana is Windows Phone," Ash wrote in his comment on the subject, as pointed by WP Central. "Any discussion or commentary about us giving up or abandoning Windows Phone is crazy talk. Our top priority is to make Cortana so fantastic that it pulls customers to Windows Phone. Period. No debate, no controversy, no throwing in the towel on our current Windows Phone customers or potential future Windows Phone customers."
Ash, in one of his tweets, also revealed that Cortana will be available in UK and China in the coming weeks. So users can expect a lot of changes in Cortana on Windows Phone in the future before the Android/iOS question makes news again.
