Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant is an impressive addition to the company’s Windows Phone software, and while Siri’s update in iOS 8 will likely give Apple’s digital gal the edge once again, Cortana has the lead at the moment. Microsoft decided to take advantage of its current “window” of superiority by releasing a new ad mocking the less impressive Siri. The clip “compares” Siri and Cortana by showing a couple of Cortana’s new abilities that Apple has yet to add to its assistant.
In Microsoft’s latest TV spot, the company stacks its voice assistant against Apple’s. Spoiler: Microsoft’s wins. The commercial features Siri on an iPhone 5S and Cortana on a low-end Lumia 635, where Microsoft’s voice assistant handles requests involving people and locations. These are tasks Siri cannot yet process. Microsoft’s impressive voice assistant rolled out to Windows Phone 8 devices with the 8.1 update. Cortana is a smart mix of Siri and Google Now in that it sports the best of both. It can handle natural text input like Siri but also produces predictive alerts as shown in the advert below. Microsoft and Apple have long taken shots at each other’s products and this practice will not stop anytime soon. Yet Microsoft should probably get in all the jabs it can now. Siri will likely leapfrog Cortana in iOS 8.
