Windows Phone 8.1: everything you need to know

“What can I do for you, David?”

There’s a woman inside my Lumia 1020 who greets me every time I hit the search button. Her name is Cortana, and she’s very friendly. She keeps my schedule in order, she knows how long it’s going to take me to get to the airport, and she knows that thanks to traffic I’m almost definitely going to miss my flight so really why am I even trying? It’s okay, she’ll help me book another flight tomorrow. Oh, and she has a great idea for where I should go to dinner tonight.

Technically, Cortana isn’t supposed to exist for at least another 500 years, but that’s not stopping Microsoft from bringing her to life this week. While Apple has Siri and Google has Google Now — both digital assistants that run on smartphones — Microsoft is taking an approach that mixes the best of the competition with its own unique take. Based on a 26th-century artificially intelligent character in the Halo video game series, Cortana will debut as part of Windows Phone 8.1, the next big update for Microsoft’s mobile operating system.

By learning your habits and interests continuously, Cortana is positioned as a personal digital assistant that helps you organize your day-to-day activities, alongside regular web searches for information. Cortana will act as the primary way to discover and search for information on Windows Phone 8.1, or just an assistant to manage your meetings, reminders, and daily life. She’s smart and witty, all while being designed to closely resemble a human assistant. With the competition already years ahead, Cortana arrives at a time when Microsoft is focused on catching up in mobile. Cortana is a significant new feature for Windows Phone 8.1, one that has been in development for more than two years. In many ways, Microsoft’s bold new mobile efforts rest on her virtual shoulders. This is the story of Cortana, and how she came to be.

“I’m thrilled for you all to now meet our truly personal digital assistant for Windows Phone,” says Joe Belfiore as he introduces the Bing-powered Cortana voice assistant. Belfiore is demonstrating all the new features in Windows Phone 8.1 at Microsoft’s Build conference, with Cortana being the major highlight.

Cortana is very much Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s S Voice, and all the other voice assists software suites out there. It lets you manage basic phone functions, set appointments, perform searches, play back music, and set so-called quiet hours when only your inner circle of contacts may reach you. Similar to Google Now, Cortana learns from the web searches you perform and the locations you frequent to try and provide contextually sensitive and timely information.

Microsoft is preparing to release its very own Siri alternative in Windows Phone 8.1. While details and screenshots have provided some of the features of Cortana, the name for Microsoft’s digital personal assistant, a video has emerged today that shows the voice-activated assistant in action. Unleash The Phones has published a two-minute video that demonstrates the setup process for Cortana. It appears that Cortana will require a Microsoft Account to function, and it’s activated after a set of questions and the ability to set what nickname the assistant will use to speak to you. Example questions include, “What are a couple of the most enjoyable parts of your everyday evenings?” and “When you think about food, what’s most important to you these days?”

After the questioning is complete, Cortana stores these details in its Notebook and the voice and search functions are then activated. The video doesn’t show how results are processed, nor what the voice of Cortana sounds like, but it does reveal a do-not-disturb mode that Cortana will manage. Named “quiet hours,” the feature will silence calls, texts, and other notifications during certain periods when it’s turned on or set to automatically enable. Similar to Apple’s iOS do-not-disturb mode, quiet hours will allow phone calls if a particular caller dials two times within three minutes, or if the caller is part of a favorite “inner circle” list. Text notifications can also be allowed through, or set to automatically reply during the quiet hours period.

Microsoft detailed some of the hardware aspects of Windows Phone 8.1 earlier today, and now a leaked image is providing an early look at one of the first handsets that will run the new operating system update. Evleaks has posted a photo of Nokia’s Lumia 630, codenamed Moneypenny, and it clearly shows a Windows Phone device with on-screen buttons. The softkeys, as Microsoft calls them, are primarily designed for low-end Windows Phone 8.1 handsets, and it’s clear from their presence and the Lumia 630 numbering that this particular device won’t be the next flagship handset for Nokia.

It’s unclear what specifications Nokia is planning for its Lumia 630, but some rumors have suggested it will include a 4-inch screen and 1GB of RAM. Nokia is also expected to be preparing a dual-SIM version of the handset, rumored to be named the Lumia 635. Given Microsoft’s clear moves towards more low-end Windows Phones, it’s likely that we’ll see a lot more devices running the company’s future update with on-screen buttons for navigation and dual-SIM support. Microsoft is expected to finalize Windows Phone 8.1 next month, with an early release to developers at the company’s Build conference in April.

Microsoft isn’t saying “Windows Phone 8.1” today at Mobile World Congress, but the company is detailing a few of its features. In an update arriving this spring, Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore says the company will “technically” support all existing Windows Phone 8 devices. It’s not clear whether carriers will allow Windows Phone 8.1 devices to upgrade, but Microsoft is announcing its own support of existing devices. That’s a change from the Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8 release, where existing devices were able to upgrade to 7.5, but not to the latest 8.0 version.

While Microsoft is only saying spring for this Windows Phone update, Belfiore also took some time to reveal some of the changes the company is working on. Microsoft will support on-screen buttons with Windows Phone 8.1, alongside new hardware support for Snapdragon 200, 400, and 400 LTE chipsets. Both changes will allow Windows Phone makers to build cheaper devices, but also handsets without the three physical buttons that all existing devices use today. Belfiore says the changes are designed to “help us get more and more momentum,” while allowing phone makers to reuse their existing Android handsets. Microsoft’s spring update for Windows Phone will also include support for apps to be stored on microSD cards, allowing phone makers to ship handsets with just 512MB of memory and 4GB of storage.

Although the initial Cortana digital assistant that will ship in Windows Phone 8.1 will have a lot of capabilities, Microsoft will need to extend it to third-party apps and its Windows and Xbox devices to improve its functionality in the future. The real test of Cortana will be how well it works with voice commands and its ability to understand natural phrases and questions. Microsoft’s recent voice work with Xbox One is impressive, but it also requires that you follow a strict pattern of commands for it to work successfully. Microsoft will have to ensure Cortana is at least as good as Siri for the company to position this as a full personal digital assistant.