Very soon, iOS and Google Android users will be restrained from accessing one of the most popular apps from their smartphones. Recently, Microsoft made an announcement that it will have to rid it’s Cortana personal assistant application on these platforms. Cortana is a popular app that has been downloaded at least one million times from the Google Play Store app. Therefore, this might be important news to iPhone 11, iPhone X, and iPhone 8 users.
It is now clear that the US-based technology firm now plans to integrate Cortana into its Microsoft 365 apps rather than having a stand-alone app. A post on Microsoft’s support page suggested that they are trying to make the digital assistant essential, which is why they have decided to have Cortana in the users’ Microsoft 365 productivity apps. They made it clear that Cortana will not be available for the iOS and Android users starting January 2020.
Also, the firm already has Cortana lists, tasks, and reminders synced to the Microsoft To-Do Application, which the users can download to their phones free of charge. However, from the 31st of January, 2020, the users will have Cortana disabled on their phones, and they will have the option to get the latest version of Microsoft Launcher without Cortana.
Cortana became available for Android and iOS users in 2015. But this news is a huge shocker as most iPhone X and iPhone 11 users thought that they would still have the privilege to use this important app. The main focus of the app was to help the non-Microsoft users to integrate their devices with the Windows 10 Operating System easily. It is quite unfortunate that Cortana never made a huge dent in the market. Since its launch in 2015, it has always kept its pace, but it seems it is now the time for it to bow out.
Earlier this year at a media event conference, the CEO of Microsoft made it obvious that the company does not see Cortana as a competitor against Google Assistant and Alexa services. The battle has become so fierce, and the app obviously had no clear future. At the time of writing, it is still not clear whether the application will miss from the entire market. However, what is clear is that millions of users will be left unable to download it, especially the Android and iPhone 8 users.
On close observation, it is clear that Microsoft had been keen on killing Cortana since last year, even before they gave a hint that they will be removing it from the market soon. This voice assistant will no longer be available on the Xbox One and Windows search bar, and worse still, it will no longer possess its own application like it used to.
The company states that it has something better for the users and that Cortana works best with Outlook. After all, the company has at least 100 million users in Outlook mobile, and they are using it daily as a hub. The users like to go there many times each day just to find out what is coming next. Therefore, Microsoft believes that by migrating Cortana to Outlook, they shall have a better platform to offer enhanced services to the users.
The Final Thought
Cortana was a great assistant app that many iOS and Android users found helpful in one way or another. Migrating it to other platforms might look like a mean move by the company. Since competition is almost everywhere, as companies get tech-savvy, it would have been better if they enhanced their app to become more competitive rather than remove it altogether.
