Cortana is dead on Android and iOS today

Normally April 1 is a day for jokes and pranks, but this year it also marks a funeral of sorts: the death of Cortana on mobile devices.

next Microsoft’s decision to shut down Cortana on smart speakers, including the Harman Kardon Invoke earlier this year, Microsoft now supports the Cortana app on Android and iOS devices.

Yesterday March 31 Microsoft will no longer support the Cortana application, which means things like reminders and lists in the Cortana app will no longer work, although Microsoft has said these features are still accessible using Cortana on a Windows PC. For anyone who relied heavily on Cortana to keep track of lists and tasks, these items also automatically syncced with Microsoft is to be done. app, so you’ll always have a way to manage them on a mobile device.

While Microsoft supports Cortana on a range of devices, the company is not killing Cortana absolutely. Instead, Microsoft seems be in transition far from using him as a general purpose digital assistant and turning Cortana into a more focused productivity tool, although we haven’t seen what it really looks like yet.

Microsoft said it will remove support for the current version of Cortana on the original Surface headset later this year and replace with a newer version of Cortana accessible through Outlook, so you can still use voice commands to ask Cortana to check your calendar or your e-mails using the Listen to my e-mails feature. This new productivityThe targeted version of Cortana will be available on first-generation Surface Headphones, along with second-generation Surface Headphones and Surface Earbuds.

Unfortunately, for an AI assistant that was once seen as a rival to Siri and Google Assistant with dreams of powering speakers, smart screens, and other devices, it seems Cortana just couldn’t compete with it. Apple or Google assistants. and is now looking to a second life as an assistant designed to better support Microsoft’s business and enterprise offerings. Maybe it’s a promotion. Personally, I just hope Cortana doesn’t eventually turn into Clippy’s second coming.