Windows Phone 8.1 brings Microsoft's mobile operating system up to speed with its Google and Apple competitors by adding a handful of new features — the most significant of which being Cortana, a digital assistant similar to Apple's Siri and Google Now on Android phones.
Microsoft claims that its virtual assistant gets to know you better the more you use it, just like a real-life assistant.
Similar to Google and Apple's digital helpers, Cortana is best suited for performing voice searches and setting reminders. I put Cortana to the test to see exactly how it stacks up aga ins Siri and Google Now, and here's what I came away with.
Sending Text Messages
Winner:Siri Runner Up: Cortana
Siri worked the best when it came to orally dictating text messages, but Cortana was a close second. After reciting the name of the contact, Siri pulled up the correct name and asked what I would like to say. Cortana, similarly, pulled up three contacts that sounded similar and asked which one I would like to send a message to.
Google Now lost this round. After multiple attempts, it couldn't understand the recipient's name and said it could not find the person's name in my address book. Google Now didn't even try to offer suggestions that sound similar to the person I was trying to reach like Cortana did.
Getting Directions
Winner:Google NowRunner Up:Cortana
Unsurprisingly, Google Now proved to be the best platform for retrieving directions. When I asked for directions from my office to the Flatiron Building, Google Now pulled up results from Google Maps almost instantly. Cortana took slightly longer to fetch the same directions, and HERE Maps crashed the first time I tried to open it. Still, Cortana outperformed Siri during this task, which continuously misheard "flattering" instead of Flatiron. When Apple's virtual assistant finally heard me correctly, it pulled up search results for nearby places with the words "flat" and "iron" instead of finding the iconic building.
Finding Movie Times
Winner: Google Now Runner Up: Siri
When asking all three virtual assistants to find movie theaters near me playing "Captain America: Winter Soldier," both Google Now and Siri delivered a list of nearby movie theaters. Google Now was slightly more helpful because it also pulls up the movie poster and a short synopsis from IMDB. Cortana performed a voice search instead of showing me a list of nearby cinemas showing the movie.
Weather Requests
Winner:Google Now Runner Up: Cortana
After asking "Should I wear a jacket tomorrow?" Cortana, Siri, and Google Now all offered up weather forecasts, but Cortana and Google Now's findings were more specific to my question. Google Now wins this round because it not only offered an hourly breakdown of tomorrow's forecast, but it also showed the weather for the rest of the week. Cortana also showed an hourly breakdown, but didn't show a forecast for the rest of the week. Siri's answer was less specific and simply showed the weather forecast for the rest of the week. She told me what the low temperature would be tomorrow, but she didn't offer an hourly breakdown like the others.
Finding Nearby Restaurants
Winner: Google Now Runner Up: Siri
Google Now, Siri, and Cortana all offered a selection of local sushi places, Thai eateries, and other similar types of cuisine when I asked for nearby Asian restaurants. Google Now was the most useful because it has the advantage of integrating with Google Maps. I preferred Google Now because it pulled up a map along with my search results and included a link to view more restaurants through Google Maps.
Some may argue that Siri does a better job since it pulled up the most results (15 restaurants versus six suggestions from Google Now and 10 from Cortana), but I prefer seeing a visual representation of how close these restaurants are to my location. Siri also sorts them by distance, whereas Cortana and Google Now's results don't seem to be sorted by price, distance, or rating. Cortana still pulled up useful search results very quickly, but Google Now and Siri went the extra step of adding maps and organizing the respective results.
Setting Reminders
Winner:CortanaRunner Up:Siri/Google Now
This was a tough round to call. All three virtual assistants completed this task really well. When I asked to set a reminder to send an email at 11:30 a.m., each assistant booked the reminder immediately. Cortana wins this round because it can also set reminders based on specific people. For example, I asked Cortana to remind me to tell Dan Howley that I like his haircut the next time I speak to him. Cortana slightly misheard me and thought I said "Hellie" instead of Howley, but next time I tried to send a text message to him the reminder popped up on my screen.
Alarms
Winner:Cortana/Siri Runner Up:Google Now
Again, this is a simple task that all three virtual assistants can handle easily. I preferred Siri and Cortana to Google Now because you can tap to edit the alarm after you set it. Google Now lets you cancel the request as it's processing, but once the alarm is set I had to tap the clock widget on the home screen to edit it. It's a minor inconvenience, but it's what separates Google Now from Cortana and Siri.
BONUS: Like Google Now, Cortana works with text input too. It responds via text instead of speaking out loud when you do this.
Conclusion
Because Google Now integrates so tightly with Google Maps and its other services, I found it to be more useful than the others. Cortana is a much-needed addition to the Windows Phone operating system and it's extremely accurate and responsive. But if you plan on using Google Maps for your location-based services and apps, Google Now will be more effective in most circumstances.
SEE ALSO: Windows Phone Finally Catches Up To The iPhone And Android