Lumia 530 and Lumia 630 to get Cortana by Christmas
Microsoft confirms that its digital personal assistant will be coming to Nokia's budget Lumia handsets by the end of the year
Microsoft has confirmed that the Nokia Lumia 530 and Lumia 630 will be getting the UK beta version of Cortana, Microsoft’s personal digital assistant app, by the end of the year. The app is the final piece of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.1 mobile operating system and will come in the latest Lumia Denim software update, a spokesperson for the company revealed at its Future Decoded event in London today.
Microsoft couldn’t give us an exact date for when the update would arrive, but it’s hoped that all handsets and carriers will have the Denim update by Christmas. The update is already available for Nokia’s flagship Windows phone, the Lumia 930, and users can download it right now by updating the phone’s software in the main settings menu. Cortana will then appear on the phone’s home screen alongside the user’s current apps and Live Tiles. All new Lumia 930s coming into the country will come with Cortana pre-installed.
This software update follows the release of Nokia’s brand new Lumia 830 and Lumia 735, which are the first Lumia Windows phones to come with the UK beta of Cortana and the Lumia Denim software straight out of the box. The Lumia 830 is a budget version of the Lumia 930, while the Lumia 735 is Nokia’s dedicated mid-range selfie phone.
Previously, Cortana was only available in the US, also undergoing trial as a beta app, before finally making its way across the pond to the UK late last month. The voice-controlled assistant can make calls, send texts, make calendar appointments, set reminders and look things up on the internet. It also controls your phone’s ‘quiet hours’ which disable all notifications at set times of the day so you won’t be disturbed.
