Amazon’s Alexa voice controlled home appliance platform is growing leaps and bounds. Alexa driven apps and devices were the talk of CES back in January, and Amazon continues to forge ahead, integrating Outlook calendars with the platform, with rumors of voice calling using Alexa (or Google Home) already swirling.
Microsoft is rumored to be working on a competitor, expanding Cortana to work on a “Home Hub,” which could be utilized by partners like Harmon Kardon (who showed off an Alexa competitor powered by Cortana at CES), or even possibly creating a new class of Microsoft hardware to go along with the increasingly popular Surface brand.
But is it too late already? Microsoft famously missed out on the smartphone market, coming late and lame to a new world pioneered by the iPhone, and never recovering. They missed as well on the tablet market, letting the iPad control the market before pushing back with Surface.
Now, even though there appear to be plans to bring Cortana into a “smart kitchen,” Alexa is running away with the market. Although there is some competition from Google Home, Alexa is rapidly becoming the clear leader in the space. Can Microsoft catch up? Cast your vote in the poll below:
Microsoft has big plans for Cortana, for expanding Windows 10 onto new form factors, and for getting people to “love Windows.” Are they allowing consumers to “love Alexa” instead? Vote in the poll and let us know what you think, below.
