Microsoft Cortana on iPhones, Android with New Windows 10 Phone Companion App

Microsoft (MSFT) said it will deliver its Cortana personal assistant to Android-based smartphones in June and to Apple’s iOS iPhones later this year, aid by a new Windows 10 “Phone Companion” app that links users of those platforms to the OS.

Both moves are consistent with the vendor’s initiative to extend its software to iOS and Android users, coming on the heels of a preview release of its Office productivity suite for Android smartphones following a January release of the software for Android tablets.

The Cortana app for Android phones and for iPhones works “as a companion to Cortana on your Windows 10 PC,” wrote Joe Belfiore, Microsoft Operating Systems Group corporate vice president, in a blog post.

The app will enable Android and iOS users to install Cortana from the Google Play or Apple App Store onto their phones, he said.

The new Phone Companion app baked into Windows 10 “will help you connect your Windows PC to whatever phone you own–whether it’s a Windows phone, Android phone, or iPhone,” Belfiore said. The Phone Companion app will be included in a Windows 10 preview build released in a few weeks and it will be included in the final version available later this summer.

Windows 10 also will allow Android and iOS users to store and access music from Microsoft’s cloud-based OneDrive storage, view notes taken on a PC in OneNote on phones and work in Office apps from any device. The updated Xbox Music app for Android and iPhone will be available in late June or July of this year, with “beta” functionality to enable playback of OneDrive music content, Microsoft said.

A few Cortana features available on Windows phones initially won’t work on Android or iPhones, specifically toggling settings or opening apps, Belifore wrote. In addition, the ability to voice activate Cortana, because it requires special integration with the device’s microphone, only will work on Windows Phones and PCs, he said.

Microsoft separately said it has signed agreements with 20 more hardware OEMs to pre-install the vendor’s productivity apps to their Android tablets, including Haier, LG, Positivo, Sony and Wortman.

The new deals follow similar pacts Microsoft signed in March with Dell, Samsung, eight regional OEMs and ODM Pegatron to to pre-install Microsoft Office and Skype on Android tablets.

Microsoft Microsoft Business Development executive vice president Peggy Johnson said the apps will be available on LG’s new tablet and Sony will include them on its Xperia Z4 tablet in the next 90 days.

“These 31 partners will offer Android tablets pre-installed with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype in the near future,” wrote Johnson in a blog post.