A little over two months ago, Microsoft announced that Cortana would be coming to both Microsoft Launcher and Cheetah CM Launcher on Android. Well, the company has lived up to the promise, and Cortana integration is now finally available in the Microsoft Launcher version 4.6 beta update.
The initial announcement of this update and Cortana functionality was made on the Google+ Community for Microsoft launcher. Along with the Cortana integration, the beta update adds right to left language support, and a manually managed people card. Also new is the ability to share Launcher via NFC and QR code, placing widgets into the dock, and pinning searched apps or contacts to the home screen.
You can enable Cortana in this beta version of the launcher by swiping left to the feed, then enabling and showing the Cortana card. Cortana in Microsoft Launcher is essentially the same as the Cortana app on Android. It can be used independently of the Cortana app to make a call, schedule meetings, change the wallpaper, continue on PC, and read the latest headlines. You can see it in action below:
Microsoft usually tests beta versions of Microsoft Launcher for a few weeks and then rolls out the update to the general public shortly after. For now, though, Microsoft Launcher users eager to explore the integration can enroll in the beta by checking the Google Play Beta Store.
