Cortana: will it support third-party applications?

[Dadstar0410]

Take Cal or *insert favorite third-party weather app*, for example. Will Cortana be able to pull information from those apps, or does it only pull from Bing/native applications (stock apps, if you will)? I really want to buy Cal, but I'm concerned that Cortana will not support it.

 

[unstoppablekem]

We don't know much about Cortana yet, so for now, most of us don't know.

 

[Dadstar0410]

Given that other voice assistants are out there already, do you think Cortana will support them? Idk if the others support third-party apps or not.

 

[Nakazul]

Its a API question and its impossible to answer. I will say thou with MSFT building a new voice function, its hard to see them not let third party devs get access to it, considering they are improving it and showing there serious. But probably not on launch. Maybe autum 2014 is a good bet that we see cortana really stretching its legs and with third party support, being that devs actually spent some time with the function. The most interesting question I believe will language support. Will there be a great expansion or not.

 

[jojoe42]

If not on launch, in due course afterwards - in a way, TellMe already has very shallow integration with some apps (letting you ask Tweet It! to post tweets and Battery Sense for current battery data) through voice and it would be silly of them to ignore third parties with Cortana

 

[Muessig]

Its a API question and its impossible to answer. I will say thou with MSFT building a new voice function, its hard to see them not let third party devs get access to it, considering they are improving it and showing there serious. But probably not on launch. Maybe autum 2014 is a good bet that we see cortana really stretching its legs and with third party support, being that devs actually spent some time with the function. The most interesting question I believe will language support. Will there be a great expansion or not.

Great answer. I can see that third-party apps would get access to the API, but probably not early access so earliest of Autumn 2014 for wider voice support is likely realistic.