14 DAY TRIAL // Digital assistants are the new black in today's smartphone business and almost every single phone out there comes with such a feature, no matter if it runs Android, Windows Phone, or iOS.
It's no secret that tech companies have invested a fortune to make Google Now, Cortana, or Siri as advanced as possible, and as far as Microsoft is concerned, bringing its Halo-inspired digital assistant anywhere you look is more of a priority.
Cortana has slowly evolved from a personal assistant designed for phones to a feature that will soon be available on pretty much every single device out there, including PCs, tablets, and smartwatches. Microsoft's Band, for example, brings Cortana on your wrist when paired to a Windows Phone handset.
And this is no surprise. Cortana is one of Microsoft's key features for Windows 10, and in the last six months or so, we've heard her name a million times, so the company has developed some sort of obsession for this feature. There are ads all over the place, so it's pretty clear that Microsoft is betting big on Cortana.
Starting with the January 21 event when Microsoft made the first demo with Cortana on Windows 10 PCs, the personal assistant has been constantly promoted by the Redmond giant as one of the most innovative features ever. And expect the same to happen when Windows 10 comes out on July 29.
Google and Apple, on the other hand, are not so vocal, but this doesn't necessarily mean that they're not improving their digital assistants.
Both are trying to find ways to compete with Cortana, especially because Microsoft's own assistant will soon launch on Android and iOS too. So finding new ways to keep users on board is most likely a priority for both companies.
Who uses them?
Then there's the privacy concern. These features learn so much about you that some people feel like they're invading their privacy. And it's no wonder why. Cortana, for instance, can learn everything about you, can track your calls, know your family, monitor your interests, keep an eye on your route to and from home, and pretty much everything else a personal assistant would do. Obviously with the purpose of helping you.
But the biggest question right now is who uses them? Are personal assistants really helpful on a smartphone? And no, we're not talking about the first months with a new phone when you're so excited with it that you use any feature no matter how useless it is, including personal assistants, regularly. We're talking about months and maybe years of continuous use because, as developers said, these little features can really make your life easier.
But do they? Are personal assistants a useful feature on the long term? How many of you use them and why? Can Cortana, Google Now, or Siri really be your personal assistant?
They can perform plenty of tasks, such as sending messages, provide you with the right route to your office to avoid traffic jam, show weather information, set up reminders and many other things. But is anyone using them for more than a month?
Submit your comments in the box after the jump.
