Microsoft today made Cortana available in four more countries. Cortana is the voice-controlled personal assistant built into Windows Phone 8.1.
Cortana only spoke English when launched earlier the year. Microsoft later extended Cortana to China. Now, the developer preview version of Windows Phone 8.1 offers Cortana in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Microsoft is offering Cortana as a preview so developers in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain can add Cortana capabilities to their own apps.
Not all of Cortana’s features will be available overseas, says Microsoft. For example, flight tracking and transit data for smaller cities are missing. Microsoft was sure to adjust Cortana’s personality for each of the four languages, so it feels more natural to native French, German, Italian, and Spanish speakers. Windows Phone users in those countries can try Cortana by installing the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1.
Microsoft said it will add more features to Cortana over time.
