Move over Alexa. Step aside Google Assistant. Cortana is on its way home.
Microsoft recently revealed during the WinHEC conference in Shenzen, China that Cortana will be coming to smart devices through Windows 10 for the Internet of Things or IoT.
The company's WinHEC presentation also mentioned that the move to bring Cortana to the Windows IoT Core is part of its Windows 10 Creators Update.
What this means is that Cortana-powered smart devices will make its way into homes in the near future. Microsoft can partner with third parties to manufacture the hardware that will house Cortana but this will take some time and may not make it in time for the Creators Update's launch in 2017.
So far, though, there are no signs that the software company indeed has plans to do manufacture smart speakers and other devices that will carry Cortana. The potential Microsoft's digital assistant in a smart speaker is exciting, nonetheless. Most of the current smart home devices have no direct access to a digital assistant. If things fell through, Cortana will be the first one.
Microsoft is instead banking on the Home Hub feature on the new Windows 10 update. The Home Hub allows a home to become "more communal" with the help of shared computers.
The free Windows 10 update also has some new features that were announced before such as 4K video game streaming and 3D capabilities.
The announcement, however, does not come with a detailed release date. Sometimes, though, the Windows IoT Core comes out after Window 10 PC releases. Back in 2015, the IoT build for the Windows 10 November Update came a month later. That is not always the case, though, as the Anniversary Update for IoT devices were released at the same time as for the PCs.
The Windows 10 Creators Update is scheduled to become available sometime in spring next year.
