Cortana introduces new Scenes, Rules features

Even with Cortana getting a downgrade as a digital assistant, the virtual assistant is getting new features related to your smart, connected home. One of the new features is Scenes. It lets you bundle settings together under one name. For example, for a setting like Movie Time, you can set the lights to dim and the thermostat at reach a certain temp. MSPowerUser describes Rules as more conditional settings like IFTTT. For example, turn off the light at 6 p.m. The feature is said to be rolling out now to all platforms where Cortana is available. 

Microsoft's Cortana is now available on iPad

iPad users now have another personal assistant or A.I. to consider in Microsoft's Cortana. Cortana has been available on the iPhone for some time, Microsoft has tailored Cortana's user interface to suit the iPad's larger screen, a laudable change (cough, cough, Instagram). 

Upon installation, Cortana asks for location permission, access to calendars as well as a list of interests. If you use Cortana on Windows 10, having it on your iPad will be seamless. iOS now has Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and now Cortana available to users.

CES 2017: Cortana coming to BMW cars

Las Vegas - BMW has selected Microsoft's Cortana assistant to be part of their infotainment future. BMW says that its “connected driving experience will also be enhanced by intelligent voice control”, powered by a “personal digital assistant that customers are familiar with in other areas of their daily lives.”Cortana will be the voice asssitant component of BMW vehicles allowing a hands-free, yet interactive, way to access information, set reminders, check sports scores and integrate with other devices and services.

CES 2017: Nissan teases Cortana-related announcement coming at CES

Three days until #Nissan's keynote at #CES2017! (Just ask #Cortana to remind you…) Catch it on @Twitter or @YouTube: https://t.co/yre8W4jf8F pic.twitter.com/ZMfs4xCem9

— Nissan Motor (@NissanMotor) January 2, 2017

Nissan's slated to make an announcement at CES 2017 and it has teased the event with Microsoft's Cortana personal assistant. Microsoft hasn't yet played its hand in the connected car market (even as it was an early partner for Ford Sync), but hasn't revealed cars as part of its Windows 10 platform. What this could be is part of a larger AI and personal assistant play to counter Amazon's Alexa and Google Home, Cortana coming to cars (as a safer, smarter way to interact with infotainment) could set Microsoft (and by extension, Nissan) apart from the competition. We'll know soon enough once the curtains are raised at CES 2017.