Owners of the Harman Kardon Invoke speaker can now activate the device by saying, “Cortana” instead of the longer, “Hey, Cortana.”
The “Hey, Cortana” phrase has often been criticized for being inconveniently long for an activation phrase so this change should come as a welcome surprise to many users. This change has yet to be implemented on Windows phones, Windows 10 computers, or Xbox One consoles but if reaction to this update is positive, it would seem odd for Microsoft not to make “Cortana” the default across the board.
This shortening of the prompt would definitely be welcome to Xbox One owners who have had Cortana functionality for a while now (in very select regions) but have been frustrated over the extra time it takes to say “Hey, Cortana” over the original “Xbox” prompt for voice controls. It literally uses twice as many syllables. “Cortana” still won’t be as fast as saying “Xbox” but it would definitely be an improvement.
Would you like to see Microsoft shorten the Cortana activation prompt on all devices? Let us know in the comments below.
