Microsoft continues distancing Cortana from Windows

guest · Jun 28, 2019

Microsoft continues distancing Cortana from Windows
It's now available as a standalone app on the Windows Store
June 28, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/28/microsoft-cortana-separate-app/

Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana could be split off from Windows 10 to become its own separate app. The Verge reports that a beta version of Cortana has appeared on the Windows Store and is now available to download.
This move suggests that Microsoft will choose to update the voice assistant separately from Windows in future. It could make Cortana more agile, giving developers the chance to update without having to push wider updates.

A separate app may also one day give users more control over its usage, allowing them to uninstall it if they don't want it on their machines.
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roger_m · Jun 30, 2019

It would be nice to be able to uninstall it, considering that I literally have never used it.

Trooper · Jun 28, 2019

This is great news.

EASTER · Jun 29, 2019

It's about time they do something useful about that not so good AI Assistant in Windows 10.

imdb · Jun 29, 2019

roger_m said: ↑

It would be nice to be able to install it, considering that I literally have never used it.
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that would be the right approach.

roger_m · Jun 30, 2019

imdb said: ↑

that would be the right approach.
Click to expand...

Obviously i meant uninstall, but you understood what I meant anyway.

guest · Jul 25, 2019

What is Microsoft doing with Cortana?
Cortana isn’t dead, but it’s no longer an Alexa competitor
July 25, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/25/20727129/microsoft-cortana-features-strategy-report

Cortana was once a big part of Windows 10, but it’s now turning into an app. This allows Microsoft to update Cortana more regularly, but it also means the company can separate it from the built-in search experience.

While Microsoft used to claim that Cortana was used by more than 150 million people on Windows 10, the reality is that the vast majority were simply using the text-based search function rather than Cortana’s.
Cortana is even disappearing from the Xbox One. Microsoft originally planned to launch the digital assistant on its Xbox console back in 2015, but thanks to dashboard development delays it arrived in 2016. It’s now being removed only a few years later.

The signs of Cortana’s demise have been around for at least 18 months. Cortana was nowhere to be seen at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2018, and the only exception was a Cortana-powered thermostat that no longer lists Cortana as a feature on its product page.
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Microsoft will drop Cortana from Xbox One as part of another dashboard redesign

guest · Jul 26, 2019

Microsoft unveils new Cortana app for Windows 10
July 26, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/26/8931954/microsoft-cortana-app-windows-10-features-announcement

Microsoft is tweaking how Cortana works in Windows 10. While the digital assistant might be disappearing from the Xbox One, Microsoft is testing a new chat-based UI for Cortana on Windows 10 PCs. The new beta app, which was originally spotted last month, is now available to testers, and it supports text and voice queries.

Microsoft is separating its digital assistant away from the built-in Windows 10 search experience, and focusing on business users in the process. This new Cortana app for Windows 10 supports most existing features, including queries, assistant conversations, opening apps, managing lists, and basics like setting reminders, alarms, and timers.

“Not all the features from the previous Cortana experience are available just yet,” explains Dona Sarkar, Microsoft’s Windows Insider chief. “As a Beta, we plan to add more features over time with updates to Cortana from the Microsoft Store.”
This Cortana app is available in the latest Fast Ring preview of Windows 10, build 18945.
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guest · Aug 12, 2019

Microsoft’s Cortana will soon disappear from the Johnson Controls smart thermostat via a software update
August 12, 2019
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/micro...ontrols-smart-thermostat-via-software-update/

Microsoft’s Cortana will soon be removed from the Johnson Controls GLAS smart thermostat, a device once thought to be a flagship smart home product for the digital assistant when it was first unveiled two years ago.

“The Microsoft Cortana voice assistant will no longer work on your device,” according to an alert about the update obtained by SlashGear. “Moving forward, you will still have access to other voice assistants to control your thermostat through the Works with functionality of Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant.”

Under Nadella, Microsoft hasn’t been afraid to de-emphasize areas that aren’t paying off, or make a major pivot to re-invigorate a stagnant product, and that certainly seems to be happening with Cortana.
Microsoft teamed up with Amazon in a surprising alliance to integrate their respective digital assistantsIn a recent Windows update, Microsoft separated Cortana from search and add the option to mute it during setup.

These changes came a few months after Microsoft’s Cortana chief left the company.
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guest · Nov 16, 2019

Microsoft is killing off Cortana for some users
November 16, 2019
https://betanews.com/2019/11/16/microsoft-ending-cortana-support-ios-android/

Microsoft has quietly confirmed the rumors that it is planning to discontinue its Cortana digital assistant for some users. Starting next year, the company will no longer support Cortana on either iOS or Android in certain markets.
While Microsoft is yet to confirm which countries will be affected, the UK, Canada and Australia are known to be on the list. The change means that there will be no Cortana mobile app, and integration will be removed from the Microsoft Launcher.

While no major announcement has made, Microsoft has posted messages on the Cortana support pages warning people in the UK, Australia and Canada of "Changes to Cortana services". The company has not really given much explanation as to why Cortana is being killed off for someone people, nor why the markets that will be affected where chosen over others.
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The message on the support pages for the digital assistant reads:

"To make your personal digital assistant as helpful as possible, we're integrating Cortana into your Microsoft 365 productivity apps. As part of this evolution, on January 31st, 2020, we're ending support for the Cortana app on Android and iOS in your market. [...]"
Microsoft adds: "After January 31st, 2020, the Cortana mobile app on your phone will no longer be supported and there will be an updated version of Microsoft Launcher with Cortana removed".
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guest · Dec 24, 2019

Microsoft’s Andrew Shuman on the Cortana app’s death, natural language, and Alexa
December 23, 2019
https://venturebeat.com/2019/12/23/...ortana-apps-death-natural-language-and-alexa/

Last month, news broke that Microsoft was killing off Cortana for Android and iOS and was removing Cortana from its Launcher app for Android. On January 31, 2020, Microsoft will end support for the Cortana app in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K. This was Microsoft’s statement at the time:

"[...] 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."
Nonetheless, killing off the Cortana app was a bold move.

We sat down with Andrew Shuman, who has been leading the Cortana team since Javier Soltero’s departure last year, to find out why Cortana for Android and iOS is being killed off, what to expect with Cortana for Windows, his thoughts on natural language and typing, what’s going on with the Alexa integration, and more.
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guest · Jan 4, 2020

Cortana gets a significant update for Windows 10 20H1 PCs
January 4, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/cortana-gets-a-significant-update-for-windows-10-20h1-pcs/

Microsoft has been slowly cutting back on the features supported by their voice assistant, Cortana, including removing its integration from Android handsets and taking away support for basic features such as setting timers.

It seems the company has now started the phase of building it back up again, with ALumia reporting that Microsoft has released a significant update for Cortana Beta, taking it to version 2.1912.18729.0, which introduces a number of new features.
Currently, Cortana only supports US-English, with Microsoft set to withdraw from most of the world. It remains to be seen if the space will be filled by competitors such as Amazon’s Alexa or if Microsoft will claw its way back up to relevance again.
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guest · Feb 28, 2020

Microsoft drops Cortana consumer skills in new Windows 10 update
February 28, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/28/...ndows-10-productivity-skills-assistant-update

Cortana on Windows 10 is getting some changes, Microsoft announced today, as the company shifts focus for what it wants its personal assistant to be. The new Cortana will emphasize productivity features, like helping to manage your schedule, adding to-do items, or sending emails.

As part of that shift, Microsoft is removing some of the older consumer-facing functionality like the ability to control music, manage a smart home, or support for third-party Cortana skills. In other words, Microsoft is going to stop trying to have Cortana emulate Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, and focus more on features that fit in with the rest of Microsoft’s software suite.
Microsoft isn’t removing everything from Cortana — [...] The updated Cortana will roll out later this spring, but the new productivity features will only launch in the US at first.
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Chuck57 · Feb 28, 2020

Never turned on Cortana. I see no point in it, although I have a friend who loves it (her) and uses it all the time.

guest · Mar 6, 2020

Microsoft Could Rename Cortana, Essentially Killing Off Its Consumer Side
Cortana could eventually become Microsoft 365 Assistant
March 6, 2020
https://news.softpedia.com/news/mic...ly-killing-off-its-consumer-side-529379.shtml

After Microsoft announced a few days ago that Cortana would be losing some consumer features, a new report today reveals that the company internally refers to the digital assistant using a different name, and there’s a chance the same moniker would be used for the production version as well.

In other words, Cortana could eventually be renamed, and according to Petri, it might be baptized Microsoft 365 Assistant.
The naming makes sense given Microsoft 365 is Redmond’s effort for increased productivity in the enterprise, so Microsoft 365 Assistant would just be the logical choice going forward.
Cortana consumer features
Of course, Microsoft is yet to confirm these changes, but in the long term, it really shouldn’t be a big surprise if the company gives up on the Cortana moniker for its assistant.

Microsoft itself explains that Cortana is now part of the Microsoft 365 suite, especially given its new focus.
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guest · Aug 1, 2020

Microsoft is shutting down Cortana on multiple devices, including iOS and Android
July 31, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/31/21349827/microsoft-cortana-shutdown-devices-ios-android

Microsoft is rethinking its Cortana assistant, announcing that it will shut down the current iOS and Android apps, end Cortana support for the Harman Kardon Invoke smart speaker, and remove the original Cortana functionality from the first-generation Surface Headphones starting in 2021.

These changes are still a few months away, but it marks another big step for Microsoft in pivoting Cortana away from a Google Assistant or Alexa alternative to a more specialized, productivity-focused assistant — changes the company has already started making on the Windows 10 version of Cortana earlier this year. (To that end, Microsoft also put a September 7th date on the already-announced sunsetting of third-party Cortana skills for Windows.)
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Microsoft: Upcoming changes to Cortana

As we make this shift toward a transformational AI-powered assistant experience in Microsoft 365, we need to adjust our focus areas of innovation and development to give our customers assistance where they need it most. As a result, we are making changes to some U.S. consumer-centric features and functionalities with lower usage.

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking through this transition and understand that these changes may be disruptive to some of our customers.
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