Windows Phone 8.1 is here, and with it comes not only a notification centre(!) but a brand new Halo-flavoured voice assistant. But how does Cortana shape up against her competitors, who have a year or two of experience on her? Surprisingly well.
For the most part, as you can see, Cortana, Siri and Google Now are mostly on even footing. Each one of them can field most of your standard voice control questions with ease, and Cortana fits right in the middle, offering a little of Siri’s personality but without the sluggishness that is more noticeable than ever in the face of faster ever-faster competition.
Of course, Cortana has a few of her own special tricks Google Now and Siri can’t pull off, but all three cyber-assistants are mostly neck-and-neck. Now it’s just a race to see who can take control of the rest of your life first.