Microsoft’s Build conference has kicked off and one of the early announcements is that Windows 8.1 will be making its appearance fairly soon. As in, towards the end of this month or possibly in early May.

Microsoft has also confirmed the rumours (yes, they have still technically been rumours up till now) that a digital assistant named Cortana will be introduced with the mobile operating system update.

Also coming with Windows Phone 8.1 is a new Action Center, which will let users customise notifications and settings. Seems we’ve seem similar things from Android and iOS in the past.

There are a collection of other updates due for the OS but Cortana seems to be the main focus of Microsoft’s planned rollout. North America will be getting Windows 8.1 before anyone else, with the rest of the world getting some voice-controlled assistance on their Windows Phones at an unspecified later date.

Source: Ars Technica