Windows 10 shipped with one of it’s best features unavailable in Australia. Cortana voice integration delivers what you know and love from the voice assistant on your phone and more, to the desktop. Back in July, Microsoft announced they would ship to additional markets outside the US after the July 29th launch day, but simply stated ‘in the coming months’ as the timeline.
Thankfully the wait was just over a month and those in the Windows Insider program will start receiving Cortana voice support in Windows 10, from today.
Today, we will begin rolling out Cortana to Insiders on Windows 10 Insider Preview builds 10532+ as an optional download to Insiders in Japan and in English for Insiders in Australia and Canada. We also have an early version in English for Insiders in India, which will be updated with an improved voice later this month.
There’s unfortunately no way to force the rollout to your machine like there was with the Windows 10 upgrade, so just keep checking. It won’t be installed by default, so if you’re an Aussie, it’s time to set your region back to Australia and get ready to start talking to your computer.
Update
Thanks to @ChrisWalshie for the tip, you can actually get this now, just head to Settings > Time &Language > Region & Language and click on your language (Australian if you already have it installed). There will be a link to download the speech part. 17MB later and you’ll be off to the races.
More information at the Windows Blog.
