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It looks like Xbox will welcome Google Assistant and Alexa to the party

As detailed by multiple sources yesterday, the Xbox may be getting much more friendly with Alexa and Google Assistant. Windows Central reports that upcoming dashboards are showing an option to enable digital assistants including Alexa and Google Assistant; this would mean Xbox users would no longer be locked in to Cortana.

Xbox Dashboard shows digital assistants on the way
Currently, Cortana is the only digital assistant that works within the Xbox, but the writing has been on the wall for her demise for a long time. With the discontinuation of the Kinect for consumers, her use was possible only through headsets and microphones which I would imagine few people used on the daily basis.As someone that routes their TV through the Xbox to take advantage of the entertainment system aspect of the device, I can assure you that I seldom have access to a microphone.

Image result for kinect 2.0
The death of Kinect basically ended voice interaction
However, with the introduction of other digital assistant capability, the Xbox can be integrated neatly in to homes that take advantage of assistants and smart speakers including Homes and Echos. For instance, with the old Kinect, I could simply tell Cortana to turn the Xbox on or open an app; the convenience of this was wonderful. Unfortunately, the Kinect does not work anymore so voice interaction with the Xbox is gone.

Now, here comes more of the brilliance of Nadella to save the day. Say what you want about the direction of Microsoft under Satya Nadella, but you cannot deny how open the company has been under his direction. At Build, we were given a glimpse in to how Microsoft will interact with other companies when they demonstrated the integration of Alexa and Cortana; I would say their complete embracing of Android is another indicator. Under Satya, Microsoft has gone from close-minded to completely embracing openness, and the integration of digital assistants for the Xbox is just another sign of Microsoft's direction.

Image result for alexa and cortana
Alexa and Cortana are already slated to cooperate
In addition to this being a great sign for the tech community, it is also a welcomed feature for smart home enthusiasts. Most people tend to stay within a single ecosystem; I tend to have my entire home run through Google Assistant. As I explained yesterday, I have my lights, air conditioning, and fans run by her just by voicing what I would like, and in the past, I used to have Cortana run my Xbox. When this feature becomes live, I will be able to run both my living room Xbox as well as my bedroom Xbox with Assistant making my home life even more convenient.

As of right now, there is no timeframe for when this feature will go live, but it is nonetheless a very exciting announcement as it not only adds convenience for end-users, but also shows a willingness to cooperate among the tech titans.

Thank you Satya!

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