Last month, Microsoft rolled out a private beta of Cortana for Android. We knew this would happen at some point — seeing the Cortana digital assistant, which was once an exclusive to Windows Phone, on a rival operating system like Android. Now, Microsoft has rolled out an update to Cortana, giving Android users the option to replace Google Now.
In the latest Beta version of Cortana, you can now replace the Google Now shortcut, which can be accessed by pressing and holding the home button. Instead of Google Now, you can activate Cortana instead (see image below). This build of Cortana has yet to support “Hey Cortana” and there are still other ways to access Google Now features if you really need it.
For anyone interested in testing Cortana on Android, there are several places where the Beta .APK file can be downloaded. For anyone looking to be a part of the official Microsoft Beta program for Cortana on Android, more information can be found here.
Further reading: Android, Cortana, Google Now, Microsoft
