More than two years after launching on the iPhone, Cortana has made its way to the iPad.
Microsoft today updated its Cortana app for iOS with iPad support. The look of the app is largely unchanged from the iPhone version, but now the UI is optimized for the larger display of the iPad.
Also rolling out as part of this update, which is version 2.6.8, is a faster start-up. Microsoft says that this new version of Cortana launches 20 percent faster than before.
Cortana is a digital assistant similar Siri or Google Assistant. It can answer your questions about things like the weather and your calendar, help you start a list, do conversions, and more. It can also set reminders based on email or location and track packages and flights.
Because Apple doesn't allow third-party apps to be set as default apps on iOS, Cortana can't be "built-in" to your iPhone like Siri can. That means that you'll have to launch the Cortana app every time you want to use it rather than simply calling Cortana up with your voice. Still, for Windows users that like having Cortana on their desktop, it's nice to see a native Cortana app available for the iPad, too.