Windows Phone 8.1's Cortana Voice Assistant Coming to India Soon

| Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 17:04 [IST]

Microsoft has outed the brand new Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, incorporating it with the Cortana voice assistant. However, while the operating system has started reaching almost all supported handsets, same isn't the deal with Cortana. But there may still be hope.

According to reports, Microsoft has decided to speed up the roll out of the Cortana to all the devices that are running the latest Windows 8.1 operating system. And moreover, Cortana is also said to arrive in more countries soon.

Windows Phone 8.1's Cortana Voice Assistant Coming to India Soon

Microsoft made official the new version of its mobile operating system, back in April, namely Windows Phone 8.1. The OS is now arriving on existing WP8 devices with a range of enhancements, including the much hyped Cortana.

Microsoft had previously said that it was planning to release Cortana on more markets. However, it also unveiled that it was focused on offering a great localized experience with it. However, this was the reason why Cortana was featured majorly back in US only.

As of now, before the end of this month, the feature is expected to go official in China and the UK. However, a wider rollout might start soon, according to Microsoft's Marcus Ash.

"So we get a lot of feedback on that and I think the early reception and just this kind of groundswell of, I want to use it even though it's not my native language, actually caught us by surprise and is exciting and has really pushed us to think about how quickly we should be releasing these markets," he says.

"So I think you'll see a lot of movement on that front in the next six months. I think this - the number one priority for the team is get this in the hands of as many customers as possible."

On the possibility of the voice assistant heading over to India, according to Microsoft's Marcus Ash, group manager for Cortana, his team has just started working on the Indian version. And unless you were unaware, Windows Phone users in India who already installed the Developer Preview back in April, have already enabled Cortana even though the personal assistant defaults to the US English version.

The company is currently expected to provide more details about the possible roll-out sooner than later.