14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most appealing features that Windows Phone 8.1, the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system, was announced with in early April is Cortana, a digital personal assistant, which remains exclusive to the United States for a month longer, it seems.
Ever since this feature was officially confirmed for Windows Phone 8.1, users around the world have been wondering when it will become available for them, and Microsoft has already responded to that.
Over the past few months, the company has unveiled plans to expand the availability of Cortana to more markets out there, starting with the UK and China, with countries such as the Netherlands and Spain set to receive it not long after.
Furthermore, Group Program Manager for Cortana on Windows Phone, Marcus Ash, said in June that Cortana for the UK was only weeks away, and everyone assumed that it would arrive either in June or in July.
As it turns out, this is not the case, and Windows Phone enthusiasts in this country will actually have to wait a while longer for the feature to become officially available for them.
The info comes from a tweet posted today by Windows Phone UK, which also unveils that Cortana will be released in the country at a later date this year.
@sM4llziE Hi there, it won't be this month, we're afraid but later in 2014.
— Windows Phone UK (@WindowsPhoneUK) July 7, 2014
As Winbeta notes, however, not all hope is lost, and the digital personal assistant might actually arrive in the country before the end of July.
It is argued that the Windows Phone UK Twitter account is managed by Microsoft’s marketing personnel, and that these people might not be up to date with the latest plans related to Cortana’s rollout.
Engineers, on the other hand, should have a better idea of when the feature will come to more markets out there, as they are those effectively working on this.
While the news site certainly makes a good point, we’ll still have to wait for an official confirmation coming from Microsoft before marking out calendars, that’s for sure.
Officially, Microsoft has announced that Cortana will be coming to the UK and China sometime before the end of this year, but no specific release date has been unveiled as of now.
Although officially available only in the United States at the moment, Cortana can be brought to Windows Phone 8.1 devices on other markets out there as well, as long as users change their phone’s location settings to the US, and the preferred language to English (US).