Microsoft’s Einstein-boosted Cortana coming to Android and iOS too

This genuinely brings a smile to my face, especially considering Apple‘s staunch closed ecosystem mentality and Android‘s Google Now dependency.

Microsoft has announced that its Bing-powered personal digital assistant Cortana is flying the Microsoft coup, and coming to Android and iOS in the near future.

In a Reuters exclusive, “people familiar with the matter” noted that Cortana will be rolled out to mobile devices running Apple’s and Google’s prized operating systems.

But this doesn’t quite stop there. Microsoft is also working on a more “advanced” version of Cortana to rival Apple’s Siri, dubbed the Einstein Project.

The MD of the company’s research division Eric Horvitz, has noted that the technology “which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana,” and is scheduled for release in the northern autumn, around the same time that Microsoft’s Windows 10 is likely to appear.

Both key points in the report are interesting, not only to Microsoft fans but to Apple and Google users as well. With Cortana finding itself on devices running Android and iOS in the future, this could also mean integration with Windows 10 on the desktop, even without the user running a Microsoft-crafted phone.

It’s clear that Redmond’s days of tip-toeing around its competitors are over too, offering the likes of its Office suite and other software to those running non-Microsoft operating systems.

Read more: Microsoft Office for Android is now live, Outlook available for ‘preview’

“We’re defining the competitive landscape… of who can provide the most supportive services that make life easier, keep track of things, that complement human memory in a way that helps us get things done,” Horvitz concluded.

You can read the full report here.

Feature image: Bhupinder Nayyar via Flickr