Microsoft Unveils A Standalone Beta App For Cortana, Its Virtual Assistant On Windows

Over the last few months, Microsoft is slowly extracting its Cortana virtual assistant from Windows. This attempt first started with the detaching of the assistant from the inbuilt search bar in the latest Windows 10 update. The software maker has also added a separate Cortana beta version to the Windows Store that Windows Insiders users can now download and try.

Users can see a range of completely new features under the Windows 10 Build 18945 program and if they are in Fast Ring. The updated version of the AI assistant now supports both dark and light themes in Windows. The corporation has also tweaked the virtual assistant so that the "Hey Cortana" prompt causes fewer disruptions to users.

As part of an effort to improve the performance of chat-based user interface at processing text and speech queries, new language and speech models are added. Although the new beta app has not yet supported all existing features of the virtual assistant, according to Microsoft, they are working on the addition over time. Dona Sarkar, the head of the Windows Insider Program at Microsoft explains in a blog post:

These updates arrived just some days after the software manufacturer announced a revamped home screen layout for its Xbox One as well as changed the way players control their console by using the virtual assistant. These changes are expected to go live for everyone later this fall.

Regarding the standalone beta version of Cortana app, The Verge predicts that it is not until the first six months of next year that the standalone app will eventually make its way to all Windows 10 users.