We’ve already written about how IFTTT – short for coding mantra “If This Then That” – makes a lot of things more convenient. It’s about time that digital voice assistants take advantage of this way that devices “talk” to each other. Google Assistant has already opened its code for IFTTT integration, and now we are happy to tell you that Cortana is adding more home automation capabilities, including IFTTT integration.
Cortana is an alternative digital voice assistant from Microsoft, and it can be found on Windows 10, Android, iOS, and the Harman Kardon Invoke speaker. Microsoft has announced in October last year that it was supporting Samsung SmartThings, Nest, Philips Hue, Wink, and Insteon with Cortana. Now it is adding smart home devices from ecobee, Honeywell Lyric, Honeywell Total Connect Comfort, LIFX, TP-Link Kasa, and Geeni to Cortana’s supported list. So you can go “Hey Cortana, set the living room thermostat to 72 degrees” and it will do just that.
The more exciting news, we think, is that now Cortano works with IFTTT. As Microsoft puts it, “IFTTT works with 600 services from providers in a variety of areas. You could add items to your shopping list on Trello, post a tweet, open your Link shades, extend tumble time on your GE Dryer and log your weight on Fitbit among many other things. There’s a whole world of possibilities with Cortana on IFTTT.”
So IFTTT opens up more functionality for Cortana, especially on the Android platform. If you prefer Cortana over Google Assistant, then this is really good news for you.
SOURCE: Microsoft
