In a recent announcement, Microsoft says it’ll discontinue the Cortana app for Android and iOS devices starting from January 31, 2020. But, not all countries will lose the app immediately.
Microsoft revealed the first list of countries that’ll lose the app on the date as mentioned above. These include Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Germany, China, India, and Spain.
The tech company did not list the entire countries on its support page. However, it confirmed to The Verge that additional regions would lose support throughout the coming year.
While Microsoft may be discontinuing the Cortana app on smartphones, the voice assistant will still stick around. Reports suggest that the company intends to integrate the voice assistant deeper into Microsoft 365.
In a statement to The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson said:
“To make Cortana as helpful as possible, we’re integrating Cortana deeper into your Microsoft 365 productivity apps, and part of this evolution involves ending support for the Cortana mobile app on Android and iOS.”
Windows 10 users will still be able to use the digital assistant, too, even though Amazon‘s Alexa is now an option on the Operating System. Cortana will remain active on PCs, as well as within dedicated services like Outlook.
Why Microsoft is Discontinuing the Cortana App
Like your phone’s built-in voice assistant, the standalone app lets Cortana listen to voice commands, and respond accordingly.
Back in December 2015, Microsoft launched the app to enable Windows 10 PCs to connect with smartphones. Unfortunately, the app could not compete with other digital assistants on the phone, even after a significant redesign.
Earlier in the year, Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, said that the company no longer considered Cortana, a competitor to Alexa or Google Assistant. So, it’s not surprising that the company would discontinue the Cortana app.
With that said, Microsoft has not revealed the fate of the Cortana app in the United States. But, based on the trend, we can safely assume that it’ll lose support sometime in 2020.
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