Cortana In Creators Update: Clipboard, Notification Sync

Siri might be the oldest player in the personal assistant game and Alexa might be the new darling, but Microsoft's Cortana has one thing the others, even the new Google Assistant, don't. It's available on multiple platforms and devices, including Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Android, and iOS. In the upcoming Creators Update for Windows 10 next year, Microsoft will take advantage Cortana's cross-platform abilities to bring at least three new features to the platform, including a universal and improved notifications across devices.

The Universal Clipboard feature is something macOS users have already been experiencing starting with version 10.12 "Sierra". In essence, this means that text you copy from one device will be available in another. The difference is that, in Microsoft's implementation, it should be compatible anywhere Cortana is. Users will be able to select a device to copy to as well as get notified about its progress. And since this is Cortana, it can all be triggered by a voice command.

Cortana has already been bridging PC and mobile notifications before but it has always been one-way, with mobile notifications appearing on Windows 10 PCs. In next year's update, however, it will come full circle with mobile devices running Cortana mirroring notifications coming from PCs.

Finally, Windows 10 PC will soon have the ability to be unlocked using a mobile device. That feature has been available on other platforms. The difference is that, in theory, Microsoft's will be more cross-platform than its rivals. Ironic considering this is Microsoft.

Nothing's official yet, however, and Microsoft might choose to make these features exclusive to Windows 10 Mobile only. That, however, won't probably last long and will eventually find its way to Android and iOS. Microsoft seems to be preparing Cortana to be everywhere, so it only makes sense to have these features available on other mobile platforms as well.

VIA: MS Poweruser