Microsoft's Cortana heading to Xbox One, will take on Apple's Siri in the living room
Apple's Siri voice controls debuted on the new Apple TV last fall, and Microsoft's competing Cortana will follow suit, debuting in the living room on Xbox One consoles starting this summer.
Until now, voice control on the Xbox One gaming system has been rigid, with specific commands required to operate. That's set to change with the debut of Cortana, which will allow a more natural, conversational style with the system.
Apple, of course, has offered its own conversational media controls since last year with the fourth-generation Apple TV and Siri Remote. Like the Xbox One, the latest Apple TV allows users to download apps and games, and to play those titles with full-fledged gaming controllers.
One key difference between the Apple TV and more traditional consoles like the Xbox One is price --?while Apple's set-top box starts at $149, the Xbox One is priced at $299.
In a post to its official Xbox blog, Microsoft announced on Monday that the gaming machine and media player will add Cortana support in a preview update debuting in the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Germany and Spain starting this week. The update is scheduled to officially launch for all Xbox One users this summer.
Microsoft says users can expect the "familiar Cortana experience" already established on Windows 10 and Windows Phone devices, invoked with the words "Hey Cortana." Voice controls with Cortana on Xbox One will work with both headsets and Kinect.
"You'll be able to use Cortana to find great new games, see what your friends are up to, start a party, accomplish common tasks, turn on your Xbox One if you're using Kinect, and more," Microsoft said. "We'll continue to build Cortana features over time and our vision is to use Cortana to help elevate your experience as your personal digital assistant for gaming."
In a demonstration, Microsoft showed Cortana doing more than just gaming-related functions --?one example had the assistant delivering the scores from recent Seattle Mariners baseball games.
Ironically, Xbox is the last major platform from Microsoft to support Cortana, despite the fact that the voice-driven service is named after a character from the company's blockbuster Halo gaming franchise, which is exclusive to Xbox.
With the optional Kinect accessory, the Xbox One is always listening, meaning Cortana support is available hands-free. In contrast, the Apple TV requires users to press the Siri button on its remote to begin listening for voice commands.
Apple is rumored to be working on an upgraded Apple TV that could have its own microphone and speaker, allowing for always-listening capabilities without the need to have the Siri Remote in hand. Such additions would allow Apple to compete not only with the likes of Cortana on Xbox One, but also dedicated in-home personal assistants like Amazon Echo, or Google's forthcoming Home hardware.
Until now, voice control on the Xbox One gaming system has been rigid, with specific commands required to operate. That's set to change with the debut of Cortana, which will allow a more natural, conversational style with the system.
Apple, of course, has offered its own conversational media controls since last year with the fourth-generation Apple TV and Siri Remote. Like the Xbox One, the latest Apple TV allows users to download apps and games, and to play those titles with full-fledged gaming controllers.
One key difference between the Apple TV and more traditional consoles like the Xbox One is price --?while Apple's set-top box starts at $149, the Xbox One is priced at $299.
In a post to its official Xbox blog, Microsoft announced on Monday that the gaming machine and media player will add Cortana support in a preview update debuting in the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Germany and Spain starting this week. The update is scheduled to officially launch for all Xbox One users this summer.
Microsoft says users can expect the "familiar Cortana experience" already established on Windows 10 and Windows Phone devices, invoked with the words "Hey Cortana." Voice controls with Cortana on Xbox One will work with both headsets and Kinect.
"You'll be able to use Cortana to find great new games, see what your friends are up to, start a party, accomplish common tasks, turn on your Xbox One if you're using Kinect, and more," Microsoft said. "We'll continue to build Cortana features over time and our vision is to use Cortana to help elevate your experience as your personal digital assistant for gaming."
In a demonstration, Microsoft showed Cortana doing more than just gaming-related functions --?one example had the assistant delivering the scores from recent Seattle Mariners baseball games.
Ironically, Xbox is the last major platform from Microsoft to support Cortana, despite the fact that the voice-driven service is named after a character from the company's blockbuster Halo gaming franchise, which is exclusive to Xbox.
With the optional Kinect accessory, the Xbox One is always listening, meaning Cortana support is available hands-free. In contrast, the Apple TV requires users to press the Siri button on its remote to begin listening for voice commands.
Apple is rumored to be working on an upgraded Apple TV that could have its own microphone and speaker, allowing for always-listening capabilities without the need to have the Siri Remote in hand. Such additions would allow Apple to compete not only with the likes of Cortana on Xbox One, but also dedicated in-home personal assistants like Amazon Echo, or Google's forthcoming Home hardware.
Comments
This may be different -- not your grandfather's voice recognition:
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-apples-vocaliq-ai-works-2016-5?r=UK&IR=T
And because of its tight integration of Apple's hardware and software, the New Siri could:
Siri: "Tom, the Dubs game starts in 20 minutes ... shall I setup the TV?"
Tom: "yes"
or
Siri: "Ann, the teleconference is scheduled for 1:00 ... shall I make the connections with all parties?"
Ann: "No, I need to reschedule that for 1:45, and Bill and Sally won't be attending"
Siri: "Got it! I'll reschedule for 1:45, without Bill and Sally"
Finally, I wonder if Siri on a shared device, say, the AppleTV, could perform voice recognition -- and serve several masters.
Ask yourself. Is Microsoft competing with some future Siri speaker product that Apple may or may not release? Are they competing with the few million Apple TVs that Apple pushes a year that Apple may or may not add Siri to? Or are they trying to compete with Nintendo and Sony in the video game console market like they have been for nearly 20 years?
Look, the next Nintendo console is being delayed to add VR capability. You can be certain that the next Playstation will integrate with Android Daydream VR also. How does Microsoft fight back? Making sure that the next XBox - or XBox refresh - supports both their HoloLens VR platform, which Sony and Nintendo can compete with ... and the digital assistant/AI app that Sony and Nintendo cannot.
But sure, go ahead and think that Microsoft is trying to grab a slice of that booming 3 million units a year smart speaker market from Amazon, Google and Apple instead of being primarily concerned with the long existing competition in one of their long existing product lines. Wow ... step into a place where a product that one company may or may not ever introduce and may or may not commercially succeed if they do is more important than a business that a company has been in for nearly 20 years. And that place, that wondrous realm, is called ... the Twilight Zone!
But then again, I guess that you can perhaps say that Microsoft was following Apple when they created the XBox in the first place because Apple had the Pippin gaming system first. Right?
This is exactly right. MS announced Cortana was coming to the Xbox One over a year ago - before Siri came to the Apple TV. This is all part of the conversion of the Xbox to a Windows 10 based device. There is much more to this upgrade than Cortana. The Windows Store and the Xbox store are becoming one. Applications targeted at the UWP will be available to the Xbox (at least where the developer chooses too). It's all part of the expanding windows 10 UWP play. Develop and application for UWP and it can target PC (desktop, laptop, tablet), Xbox, IoT (Rumor: Band 3 will be running on Windows 10 IoT), HoloLens, and yes even Windows 10 Mobile.
Siri's voice recognition is pretty good though it often misunderstand what I want to do if I don't use specific phrasing.
This is to protect the Xbox mainly, not compete directly against the Apple TV or whatever Google or Amazon are doing.
Cortana's voice is nice in the UK - if she were real, I'd ask her out for dinner - but Apple products DOMINATE, and they're EVERYWHERE, 24 hours a day, IN YOUR POCKET. I can't take Microsoft seriously any more, I really don't know what planet they're from, but Windows 10 Mobile STILL hasn't been officially released, and I soon turned back around and came home from the brief excursion to Windows 10 Desktop land - UGH - okay, it's nicer than SOME old versions, but I just get this very uneasy, unfocused feeling from Microsoft - it's like there's an underlying feeling that you KNOW they have no confidence or assertion about their future, and yet they put on this lip service and whole act when they're asked about things... like we're that easily fooled.