Microsoft adds support to control smart home devices with cortana

The battle to conquer the smart home through virtual or digital assistants continues. The much more visible conflict between Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa is now joined by Cortana, from Microsoft, which is already capable of controlling "smart devices" at home.

Cortana also wants to make your life easier

Although it is something that in Spain is still a bit far away, in the United States a real battle is being fought to conquer the home of millions of citizens through so-called digital assistants. At the moment there is a very clear winner, Amazon, but it is not the only one. Google Assistant is also going strong and Microsoft has just taken a step forward whose importance remains to be seen.

Without notice, Microsoft has added a useful new feature to its Cortana digital assistant in Windows 10 for PC and Mobile. Specifically, it is a new option of “Connected home” that is already available in Cortana's configuration menu, allowing users to control smart home devices from various companies through voice.

As we have learned through Windows Central, the new “Connected Home” section is compatible with Alphabet's Nest devices, along with products that are compatible with Samsung's SmartThings platform. It is also possible to control devices from the Wink, Insteon and Philips Hue companies.

Once the function for these products is enabled in the configuration menu, the user can use their Windows 10 PC or their mobile device to control any of the devices of the aforementioned brands.

What is not yet known at the moment is whether this new feature will be expanded to Cortana applications on Android and iOS. One of the reasons the Connected Home feature has now been added is that Microsoft is gearing up for a nearby launch of the Harman Kardon Invoke speaker that Cortana will use as its digital assistant and which has been designed to compete against Amazon's Echo devices. and the Google Home.