Microsoft Chucks In The Towel On Voice

As of January 31, 2020, Microsoft will no longer support its Cortana virtual assistant mobile app for Android and iOS in Australia, the UK, Canada, Germany, Mexico, China, Spain and India. It will still work in the US, for now.

Microsoft’s standalone app allowed Cortana to listen to voice commands and respond via integrated third-party services in a bid to compete with Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, although failed to gain much traction over time.

According to Microsoft, by the end of January next year, user created Cortana content will no longer function in the PDA mobile app or Microsoft Launcher on Android and iOS. The Cortana app will be removed, while the Microsoft Launcher will get an update to remove the PDA functionality.

However, it will now be transitioned to a built-in feature on Microsoft’s other products. Lists, reminders and other content created through the iOS or Android app will still be accessible via Cortana on Windows.

Cortana reminders, lists and tasks will also be automatically synced to the free Microsoft To Do mobile app.

“The company sees Cortana as a helper-specific to Office 365, the subscription-based version of Microsoft’s productivity suite,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, said in a statement.

“Cortana is an integral part of our broader vision to bring the power of conversational computing and productivity to all our platforms and devices.”

“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.”