Cortana Beta on Android can now read your incoming text messages aloud

Arif Bacchus

Cortana for Android

Cortana is about to get a lot smarter on Android devices by taking your text messages to a new level. Indeed, after previously adding support for sending text messages with your voice, Microsoft has now updated Cortana beta on Android so the digital assistant can read your incoming text messages out loud.

The details were first made available on the Google+ community for Cortana on Android (via Thurrott.com) and this new read-aloud feature should make Cortana more useful when driving or when connected to a Bluetooth headset. Microsoft noted that it’s turned on by default (you can turn it off in the settings), but the company also mentioned that there may be some unsupported devices or instances where the read-aloud feature isn’t reliable.

You can enroll in the Cortana Beta and get this update today by heading to the Google Play Store listing for Cortana. Everyone else should be getting this same update in the coming weeks once feedback from the beta has been collected.