It was only a matter of time until this happened, so here we are on Windows 10 with a working version of Cortana, the personal assistant that was until now available exclusively on Windows Phone.

This particular feature is available as part of Windows 10 build 9901, the version that got leaked yesterday and which can be installed by anyone who doesn't care about bugs and performance issues.

Remember that this build is now being offered by Microsoft as part of the Windows Insider program, so if you really wish to give it a try, you do it at your own risk and don't be surprised if the OS crashes all of a sudden.

Just like the rest of the OS, Cortana is still in its early days, so some of its features do not work as expected, while others are not yet available for users.

Only a bunch of features

At this point, Cortana seems rather limited and we've hardly managed to “convince” her to perform an action. The voice recognition system doesn't seem to be as advanced as on Windows Phone, and it's sometimes a better idea to just type what you want her to do instead of talking.

Just like her Windows Phone sibling, Cortana for Windows 10 can show you the weather, provide driving directions to a specific address, show you the daily glance when you wake up and set reminders to let you know when you have to pay your bills.

Searching the web is probably the feature that works the best, so that shouldn't be a problem for anyone installing build 9901.

Cortana can also look in your calendar and display notifications for new appointments, but synchronization still appears to be a little bit buggy, as new calendar entries are only imported by the personal assistant after rebooting the system and not at launch.

Settings and interface

At this point, the interface of Cortana seems really cluttered and most features are included in a very small window that clearly needs more refinements to fit the improved Windows 10 desktop. Microsoft has already made some revisions to the desktop, which now looks even better thanks to smaller icons, so Cortana clearly needs to put on her makeup to get in line with the new operating system.

As far as settings are concerned, Cortana comes with almost the same pack as on Windows Phone, so you can configure everything from your interests to reminders and locations.

One thing that's worth taking into account is that, just like on Windows Phone, Cortana needs the localization system turned on for your PC. So, whenever you launch the personal assistant, you will notice the localization icon in the system tray for personalized information such as weather forecasts and driving directions.