Report claims that Microsoft advances with Cortana for the desktop development

Aug 11, 2014 14:04 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft hasn’t yet disclosed any information on Windows 9, but thanks to the plethora of reports reaching the web lately, we do know that the new operating system could also include a desktop version of the Cortana personal assistant.

At this point, Cortana, which is only available on Windows Phone 8.1, is still in alpha development stage on Windows 9, but Neowin is reporting via unnamed sources that Microsoft’s work on this project is going really well.

Cortana for Windows 9 is running as a separate app for now, but that’s expected to change before the new operating system is released. Cortana is obviously expected to be fully integrated into Windows 9, as is the case with the Windows Phone version.

Once you launch the Cortana app, you can either type in your question or simply talk to the microphone, again just like it works on Windows Phone. The app isn’t running in full screen, the report says, but Cortana is still in the center of main window, with the famous circle shape and animation.

Microsoft is obviously expected to significantly improve Cortana before Windows 9 comes out, but there are still some changes to delay the introduction of the personal assistant on the desktop in case something goes wrong.

Windows 9 is expected to be launched in early 2015, but it appears that Microsoft is planning to unveil a preview build of the operating system, which could also include an early version of Cortana, later this year.