Microsoft to drop Cortana digital assistant app from Google Play, Apple App Store

Redmon-based technology Microsoft launched Cortana digital assistant for mobiles on both iOS and Android platforms in 2015. This apparently gave more options for users and gained traction to a great extent.

Microsoft Cortana had garnered 22% market share (covering all devices PCs, mobile phones and smart speakers) in late 2019, more than digital assistants of the Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, while Apple's Siri topped the chart with 35% share, as per the Futuresource Consulting report.

Now, Microsoft has announced to pull the Cortana app from both Google Play and Apple App Store next year to focus on increasing productivity in Office 365 service.

"Cortana is continuing to redefine the nature of a digital assistant, with new AI-powered experiences in Microsoft 365 that are accelerating productivity to help save you time and focus on the things that matter most. 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" Microsoft said.

In that order, Microsoft will suspend the end support for all third-party Cortana skills on September 7 this year (2020). "Then, in early 2021, we’ll stop supporting the Cortana app for mobile (iOS and Android), because you can now manage your calendar and email, join meetings, and do so much more via our new productivity-focused experiences — like the Cortana Windows 10 experience, Cortana integration in Outlook mobile, and soon Cortana voice assistance in the Teams mobile app, " the company added.

Also, Microsoft has announced Cortana support for Harman Kardon Invoke speaker will also end in January 2021. It will be removed with a software update in early next year and to compensate the loss of digital assistant support, the company is offering Microsoft $50 gift card per active Invoke to the owner of the latest US-based Microsoft account used to set up an Invoke speaker that sent a voice request to the Cortana service after July 31, 2019, and prior to this announcement.

On the other hand, Microsoft's branded devices including Surface Headphones and newly launched Surface Earbuds will continue to have Cortana support.

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