Microsoft is bringing Cortana to the Microsoft Launcher on Android devices. The latest beta for Microsoft Launcher on Android brings native Cortana integration, allowing users to use the smart assistant from within their phone’s launcher, without needing to actually launch the Cortana app.

Cortana shows up as a card in the Launcher’s feed, where you can trigger some frequently used commands. Cortana also seems to be triggering the commands right from the Launcher, without needing to open up the actual Cortana app. It lets you manage your To-Do lists using Cortana, too.

The addition of Cortana is a huge step forward for the Microsoft Launcher. Ever since Microsoft rebranded the launcher, it has been rapidly adding features to the launcher, which was initially an experimental project from Redmond’s Garage lab. “Today is a special day for you because we are proudly announce the Microsoft Launcher v4.6 version and include looooong waited Cortana integration,” said one of the engineers behind Launcher, announcing the new integration.

Cortana integration on Microsoft Launcher is available as a beta for now, and it will be coming to everyone else in the coming weeks. A beta user of the app told me the integration is quite rough, but that’s expected from a beta release.

Tagged with Android, Cortana, Microsoft Launcher