- Oct 8, 2013
- 775
- 27
- 28
I've been using Cortana here in the UK since day one and was happy to see some really great advances when using the service on my Lumia 1520 running windows 8.1. It was fast, responsive, accurate and fun to use. The "hey Cortana" feature was a fantastic step forward.
However, I've since upgraded to a Lumia 950 Windows 10 phone (running very latest firmware and insider fast ring OS) and have been really disappointed.
First up, the "hey Cortana" is just flat out unresponsive. I've tried setting it to respond to anyone or just me and have been through the learn voice process loads of times. I have to say "hey Cortana" at least 4-5 times to get the phone to wake up.
Secondly, the chat feature and way in which information comes back to you is just miles short of rival google. It works fine for basic reminder settings but will almost 100% of the time default to a bing search when asked a question.
Last up, it gets just plain embarrassing when you find yourself in a real world situation. Here was mine; my wife was doing some cooking yesterday. She has an HTC M8 running Android. She wanted to know how many grams of sugar to use in flapjacks. So she hits up "ok google" and asks the question. Google comes back with a full verbal breakdown, gives her the answer...THEN tells her the calorific difference between white and brown sugar and asks her if she wants a recipe for flapjacks. How awesome is that??!
So there I stand with my Lumia 950. Not to be outdone I try the same thing. My issues start early. First off I have to say "hey Cortana" 6 times, in an ever louder voice, to get it to respond. Finally, the little circle appears and I ask the same question. What I get back is a very basic bing search for flapjack recipes.
Not nearly as impressive as ok google. In fact, not even 10% as impressive.
So I get that we're in beta mode here and have been since day one back in 2014, but seriously the move to W10M seems to have meant a big step back in Cortana intelligence. The reality is that the UK version of Cortana today is no more intelligent and capable than it was 12-18 months ago, and that's a big disappointment.
Cortana was supposed to be this big step up for Windows. It was touted as an incredible creation that was going to leave the competition scrambling for answers. The fact is that google has it licked and kicked all the way.
However, I've since upgraded to a Lumia 950 Windows 10 phone (running very latest firmware and insider fast ring OS) and have been really disappointed.
First up, the "hey Cortana" is just flat out unresponsive. I've tried setting it to respond to anyone or just me and have been through the learn voice process loads of times. I have to say "hey Cortana" at least 4-5 times to get the phone to wake up.
Secondly, the chat feature and way in which information comes back to you is just miles short of rival google. It works fine for basic reminder settings but will almost 100% of the time default to a bing search when asked a question.
Last up, it gets just plain embarrassing when you find yourself in a real world situation. Here was mine; my wife was doing some cooking yesterday. She has an HTC M8 running Android. She wanted to know how many grams of sugar to use in flapjacks. So she hits up "ok google" and asks the question. Google comes back with a full verbal breakdown, gives her the answer...THEN tells her the calorific difference between white and brown sugar and asks her if she wants a recipe for flapjacks. How awesome is that??!
So there I stand with my Lumia 950. Not to be outdone I try the same thing. My issues start early. First off I have to say "hey Cortana" 6 times, in an ever louder voice, to get it to respond. Finally, the little circle appears and I ask the same question. What I get back is a very basic bing search for flapjack recipes.
Not nearly as impressive as ok google. In fact, not even 10% as impressive.
So I get that we're in beta mode here and have been since day one back in 2014, but seriously the move to W10M seems to have meant a big step back in Cortana intelligence. The reality is that the UK version of Cortana today is no more intelligent and capable than it was 12-18 months ago, and that's a big disappointment.
Cortana was supposed to be this big step up for Windows. It was touted as an incredible creation that was going to leave the competition scrambling for answers. The fact is that google has it licked and kicked all the way.