Microsoft is discontinuing Cortana apps and integrations

Microsoft will end support for all third-party devices and software that Cortana runs on. The company will also discontinue the iOS and Android apps from the voice assistant, and the version on the Surface Headphones.

On September 7 this year, support for all third-party skills for Microsoft’s voice assistant will stop, Microsoft writes . Early next year, the iOS and Android apps for Cortana will also stop, and in January of that year the assistant will also no longer be usable on Harman Kardon’s Invoke speaker. For the latter, Microsoft says it is in talks with the manufacturer to ensure that users can continue to stream music via Bluetooth.

Cortana also disappears from the first generation Surface Headphones. Starting in early 2021, users will no longer be able to activate the assistant, or use it to play or make music calls. Users can continue to use Cortana if they pair the Headphones with a Windows 10 PC, to use a new version of the Assistant that works better with Outlook and other Office apps.

Microsoft says it wants to integrate a smart assistant into Microsoft 365 in the future. Cortana would no longer be suitable as a separate app. Microsoft says that the features were used by few people. The company refers users to features in other software where Cortana can still be used, such as in Windows 10 and Outlook. In the future, the Teams app would also receive support for Cortana.