Microsoft Will Shut Down Cortana for iOS, Android in Early 2020
Microsoft will shut down the Android and iOS apps for Cortana on January 31, 2020, because the digital assistant will as an alternative be built-in into Microsoft 365.
In a assist article, Microsoft mentioned that content material created on Cortana, resembling reminders and lists, will not be accessible on the cell app and on the Microsoft Launcher for Android, which can obtain an replace to take away Cortana.
The Cortana-created content material will nonetheless be accessible via the Home windows model of the digital assistant. Reminders, lists, and duties on Cortana are additionally mechanically added to the Microsoft To Do app, which is out there as a free obtain for smartphones. The Cortana app is used for settings configuration and firmware updates for gadgets such because the Floor Headphones although, and it’s unclear how these options shall be accessed after the app’s shutdown.
Earlier this yr, Microsoft began engaged on a standalone Cortana app for Home windows 10 PCs, releasing it from the working system in order that updates for the digital assistant could be faster. This was completed to present it room to develop and grow to be extra aggressive, because it was lagging behind its rivals — Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri. Cortana was then reported to be present process a serious overhaul for the Home windows 10 20H1 replace in early 2020, including a brand new chat-based consumer interface amongst different key adjustments.
Cortana was not talked about in any respect at Microsoft’s Floor occasion in October, regardless of the chance for its integration within the Floor Earbuds. The digital assistant, nevertheless, was current on the latest Ignite 2019 convention, the place it was introduced that Cortana shall be built-in into Microsoft 365 beginning with Outlook cell. The Cortana-powered Play My Emails has rolled out to Outlook for iOS, with the characteristic to reach on the Android model of the app in spring 2020.
Luckily for followers of Cortana in the US, there’s a glimmer of hope that the cell app will stay practical. The assist article saying the deliberate shutdown has solely been discovered for the UK, Canada, and Australia, not for the US. Microsoft has not but confirmed the explanation for the lacking assist article, and if the Cortana app shall be eliminated solely in choose markets or globally.
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