Fancy Microsoft's voice assistant in your ear? You're in luck
Microsoft is looking to get into the hearables space with a dedicated Cortana device, currently known as Clip. A person close to the project told Wareable that the Moto Hint rival will be aimed primarily at busy women and is in the early stages of development.
Chances are we won’t see the Cortana wearable until at least 2016, though prototypes will be ready by the end of 2015. Microsoft is doing research into how people would use this type of a device to hear messages and interact with a virtual assistant via voice. For instance, one use case that Microsoft is looking into is letting parents quickly set and receive reminders about their kids.
Read this: The future of hearables
It’s not clear at this stage if the Microsoft wearable will sit in the ear as an earbud like the Moto Hint or – as the name suggests – take the form of clip-on smart earrings or jewellery. The device could even work with Siri and Google Voice on iPhones and Android phones so it won’t be locked to Windows Phone devices.
Cortana can already be used on Microsoft’s new Band 2, for workout reminders and guided training, but the fitness tracker is of course worn on the wrist. Microsoft is clearly interested in wearables that are worn around the body, not least its AR headset HoloLens.
Hearables such as the Bragi Dash and Motorola’s efforts have been getting a lot of attention with a whole range of uses from controlling the smart home to tracking fitness. We’re looking forward to Microsoft putting its stamp on the category.
