The ad shows an iPhone 5S and Nokia Lumia 635 side by side on a table, while a guy asks Cortana to remind him to tell his wife happy anniversary next time they talk and several other related tasks. While Cortana cheerfully complies in her monotone voice that she will do that, Siri speaks up on the sidelines, saying, “Oh no, I can’t do that,” rather regretfully.
Indeed, in our comparison article of the three most popular virtual assistants, Siri, Cortana, and Google Now, we found that two of the areas in which Cortana excels are with people-related reminders and location-based recommendations. Siri can’t remind the man in the video to tell his wife happy anniversary the next time he calls or texts her, but Cortana can. Siri can’t remind him to pick up flowers when he’s near a florist’s shop either.
At the end of the commercial, Siri sadly says, “Now that is a smartphone,” and Microsoft closes out the commercial with a reminder that not only is the Lumia 635 useful, it’s also much cheaper than the iPhone 5S. Of course, the Lumia 635 also features low-end specs in comparison with the high-end iPhone 5S, but the comparison of voice assistants remains relevant. Maybe Cortana will take on Google Now on an Android smartphone next time.
