Natively speaking to Cortana and Google Assistant

Hey Google I said, followed by a request to list my appointments. I had nothing. Then I started Cortana and asked the same question. I got my list from my calendar.

It wasn’t accidental. On my Nokia 7 Plus I have Google Assistant mapped to the home key and Cortana as an icon on the home screen. I can use either assistant. I was half tempted to try Alexa because she lives in my home speakers. The Echo is there because the Invoke is a US only product and, I am reliably informed by Microsoft, my Amazon devices will work with Cortana soon.

However, I am diverting myself. The key issue here is that as Microsoft retreats from the consumer ecosystem I have to use Google services. My email and calendar is on Outlook.com. In my Windowsphone days everything was integrated. Now I am split between Google that supports Windows by having the browser everyone uses but nothing else and Microsoft that barely supports it’s own products for consumers.

I could go all in on Google. Forget Outlook.com, my Office 365 Home, Microsoft apps and the like. Just cave in to the feeling that Microsoft barely even notices me and move to Google.

Voice assistants are definitely part of the ecosystem. If you use one then you get drawn into the supporting products. I am now reflecting on whether I should give up on Cortana. Give up because outside the USA it’s genuinely less useful and Microsoft don’t really seem to be making it better. Give up because I use voice assistant help primarily on the phone and Google Assistant is just better on mobile.

Having moved from Windowsphone I am just contemplating killing Cortana. Arguably I may kill her on my own system before Microsoft pulls the plug on Cortana for consumer.