If you"re a fan of Microsoft"s Cortana virtual assistant and you live outside of the U.S., you"re in for some bad news, although that should frankly be no surprise. The company is ending support for the Cortana mobile app on iOS and Android as of January 31, as noted in a support document published this week.
The support document is from the UK, as Microsoft isn"t killing the app if you"re in the United States. Indeed, the page also notes that Cortana is being removed from Microsoft Launcher on Android, something that was previously reported earlier this month, and that news is also exclusive to those outside of the U.S.
Instead, Microsoft"s strategy is to integrate its digital assistant into its various Microsoft 365 apps, such as Office, To Do, and so on. The Redmond firm was clear that it"s not actually killing off Cortana, but only the mobile apps and the integration with Microsoft Launcher.
It"s unclear why the apps will continue to be supported in the U.S., so it"s entirely possible that those will be removed at a later date as well.