Microsoft kills Cortana on iOS & Android because of Alexa

Microsoft recently announced its plans to discontinue Cortana for Android and iOS devices, starting January 2020.

The Redmond giant stated in a support article that this change would affect certain markets including India, Spain, Canada, Spain, China, Mexico, Australia, UK, and Germany.

Fortunately, Microsoft doesn’t plan to completely shut down its digital assistant. The company is looking forward to its integration in Microsoft 365 for Business users. Furthermore, Android and iOS users should expect the deep integration of Cortana into Outlook application.

What caused Cortana to fall behind other assistants

If we look into the details, Microsoft launched Cortana for iOS and Android devices back in 2015. However, the company limited the functionality of Cortana to its ecosystem for years. As a matter of fact, both platforms already have their own robust voice assistants. It’s probably one of the reasons, Cortana failed to attract the attention of mobile users.

Integration of Cortana with other platforms

Today many third-party devices (including televisions and smartwatches) support digital assistants. They are no longer limited to computers and phones. Microsoft quickly followed into the footsteps of Google and Amazon. Unfortunately, the company failed to keep up with the pace.

Therefore, we can see many Google Assistant-powered devices in the market and there is an obvious reason behind it. In their perspective, the other two ecosystems are more viable as compared to Microsoft’s.

• Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in learning what are the best virtual assistant software alternatives to Cortana, check out this guide.

Cortana’s Limited Availability

Apparently, Microsoft has never been serious about expanding the availability of Cortana. The digital assistant is only available in 13 countries at the moment. On the other hand, Amazon’s Alexa is currently supported in many more countries.

Alexa Supports Windows 10

It seems like Alexa is all set to take over the PC market as well, leaving Cortana behind. Windows 10 users already have access to the official Alexa app. Now a good number of PC manufacturers are going to launch their new devices with a built-in Alexa support.

In fact, Cortana doesn’t compete with Alexa in terms of skill sets. Considering the aforementioned reasons, there is no reason for users to stick to Cortana.

What’s Next

Microsoft is of the view that the company has not pushed Cortana into a corner. It seems like the digital assistant is about to suffer the same fate as Windows Phone before shutting down.

Although mainstream users never preferred to use Cortana over other assistants. However, there are many users who are unhappy with Microsoft’s decision. Various forum reports suggest that some people still rely on Cortana for settings reminders and organizing their daily tasks. If you are on the same boat, you should probably switch to Alexa or Siri.