Cortana Says Goodbye To Smartphones As Microsoft Shuts It Down - Android

Android Authority is reporting that Microsoft shut down Cortana today, March 31, for Android and iOS. So for anybody who wanted to spice up their virtual assistant, it's now down to Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri. The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but today is the official death of Cortana [...]

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The post Cortana Says Goodbye To Smartphones As Microsoft Shuts It Down appeared first on Android Headlines.

Android Authority is reporting that Microsoft shut down Cortana today, March 31, for Android and iOS. So for anybody who wanted to spice up their virtual assistant, it's now down to Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri. The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but today is the official death of Cortana on mobile.

Cortana for iOS and Android has only been around since November of 2018 which isn’t that long at all. For anybody who uses Cortana daily to keep themselves organized your reminders and lists no longer work.

As a result, you’ll want to make sure that you use Cortana on Windows or the To-Do app on Android and iOS to get that information.

Microsoft gave a warning in July of 2020 that Cortana would be getting shut down in the future. So this news is not surprising. However, Cortana is not completely dead. She will be getting a new job helping users with Microsoft 365 services.

Harmon Kardon is also removing Cortana from its Invoke smart speaker. Poor Cortana is retiring from multiple platforms. This removal began earlier this year in March, starting the path to leaving the mobile world behind completely.

Losing Cortana may sting a little for Microsoft loyalists more than others. Users who just want an alternative to their built-in voice assistant just lose one option. Those who actively used Cortana though still have the opportunity to migrate their data elsewhere.

Microsoft shut down Cortana today. Now there's one less option.

Cortana being shut down truly is not surprising. Microsoft’s virtual assistant is a great companion for Master Chief, but it never stood a chance against Siri or Google Assistant. Siri is only on iOS or macOS and is the default option. Users can download Google Assistant but cannot replace Siri as default.

Google Assistant can be switched out, but it is just so dang good that nobody really needs to choose a different default. Alexa is the only voice assistant giving Siri and Google Assistant a challenge. Alexa is good for anybody who loves Amazon's Fire tablets, or who have any number of Echo devices around the home alongside smart home tech that has Alexa support.

Microsoft is integrating Alexa into Windows 10 thanks to a partnership with Amazon. Still, though, it is sad to see Cortana leaving. All that aside, users at least have other options to turn to.

The post Cortana Says Goodbye To Smartphones As Microsoft Shuts It Down appeared first on Android Headlines.