Cortana, Microsoft’s voice-enabled virtual assistant for windows 10 is finally saying goodbye to android and IOs. Named after the artificial intelligence in Halo, Cortana was made as a rival to Apple’s Siri and Google’s assistant. Cortana support is ending across multiple devices including the Surface Headphones. The application has been removed from the App Store and Google’s Play Store but is still there on PCs.
Cortana was first launched back in 2015 but failed to gain any popularity even after they redesigned it for windows 10. It simply could not compete with other virtual assistants especially Google and Alexa. CEO Satya Nadella himself said that they no longer saw Cortana as a competitor to other assistants.
According to a support note by Microsoft “As we announced in July, we will soon be ending support for the Cortana app on Android and iOS, as Cortana continues its evolution as a productivity assistant.” As for your reminders, tasks, and lists, they will be available on Cortana in Windows and in the Microsoft To-Do app.
The shutdown was originally announced in July of 2020. The company has confirmed that it plans to shift Cortana into their enterprise applications like the Office and other productivity software. Other places where Cortana has been removed are the Xbox One, Skype, and even the Windows 10 search where previously Cortana could be used to search for something.
The support has ended in several countries including Canada, UK, China, Germany, Australia, India, and Spain.
