Skip to main content

Microsoft’s ‘Cortana’ Siri-competitor spotted ahead of Build conference

microsoft cortana news spotted
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft’s Build developer conference is today, and we’re covering all the latest announcements on a number of new technologies the software giant hopes to reveal. One of the big reveals today will be about Microsoft’s competitor to Apple’s Siri voice assistant, Cortana. We don’t know much yet about Cortana, but a screenshot from the Bing personalization page suggests some deep integration between Microsoft’s search technology and the new voice assistant.

The page in question has been since edited to hide any mention of Cortana, but a sneaky user was able to grab a screenshot stating that Cortana will use your Microsoft account through Bing to “personalize” your experience. This is a pretty standard policy statement for services like Bing and Google, but it tells us that Cortana will certainly integrate heavily with Microsoft’s Bing search technology, much like how Google Now integrates closely with Google search technology.

For now, that’s all we know about Cortana, aside from the fact that Microsoft really is milking Halo while it still can, naming the voice assistant technology after the popular AI companion in the video game series that helped put Xbox on the map. We’re guessing Cortana’s highlights will include some powerful integration with Bing, Windows Phone, and probably have a guiding voice much like the Halo character. We’ll know for sure in just a few hours when Build gets underway.

Stay tuned with us as we follow the Build conference and find out all Microsoft has to share about Cortana and more.

Editors' Recommendations

Joshua Sherman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joshua Sherman is a contributor for Digital Trends who writes about all things mobile from Apple to Zynga. Josh pulls his…
You can pick up the Google Pixel 7 Pro for only $500 today
The Pixel 7 Pro with its display turned on, showing the home screen.

 

If you've been holding out on buying a new phone for a while because prices are still expensive, then you may want to consider going for one of the older flagship phones. For example, while the Pixel 8 Pro is out, the Pixel 7 Pro is still a powerful and viable alternative, and even better, it has quite a few great deals on it. In fact, you can buy a brand new and sealed Pixel 7 Pro from Woot for just $500, rather than the usual $1,100, and that's for the 512GB version of the phone, so you get a lot of storage with it as well.

Read more
A new Google Pixel Tablet is coming, but it’s not what you think
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

It's been almost a year since the Google Pixel Tablet went up for preorder, leading many Android tablet fans to wonder when the inevitable Pixel Tablet 2 will arrive. A new rumor suggests that Google could release a new Pixel Tablet as early as next month, but it's probably not what you were expecting or hoping for.

According to @MysteryLupin on X (formerly Twitter), Google is planning to "relaunch" the Pixel Tablet without the charging/speaker dock included in the box. As you'll likely recall, the speaker dock is the Pixel Tablet's standout feature. You can use the Pixel Tablet on its own as a traditional Android tablet when you want, and when you're done, you throw it on the dock to transform it into a smart display. The idea of Google selling the Pixel Tablet without its claim to fame is an interesting one.

Read more
Anker sale: up to 40% off portable chargers, cable, and more
The iPhone 15 Pro Max being charged by the Anker MagGo Power Bank.

If you've been looking to pick up a new charging cable, charger, or all-in-one charging station for your Android phone or iPhone, then you'll be happy to know that Anker is having a rather large Earth-Day sale that you can take advantage of. There are a ton of discounts that you can take advantage of, too, with up to 40% off in some cases. I that wasn't enough, you can even snag yourself some free gifts, for example, one of the best accessories for a Galaxy S24 is the Anker Nano Power Bank if you spend more than $90,  or even an Anker 621 Magnetic Battery if you spend over $120. Either way, there are a lot of options, and while we've shared some of our favorite deals below, it's also worth taking a look at everything Anker has to offer by pressing the button below.

What you should buy during Anker's Sale
One of the most basic things you may need for any device is a charging cable, and Anker has a couple of great options for that. If you're on an older iPhone with a lightning cable, you can grab Anker's Anker 641 USB-C to Lightning Cable that's 6 feet long using the coupon WSPEV2KENJP2. On the other hand, if you need a USB-C to connect and charge your devices, you can grab the 6-foot Anker 543 USB-C to USB-C Cable using the code WSPEV2EHDR0C.

Read more