Cortana app on Android and iOS will be shut down by Microsoft

In the near future, you will lose a choice for major voice assistants on your phone. It reports that Microsoft has shut down the Cortana app for Android and iOS about two and a half years after its November 2018 launch.

Any content you created using Cortana has stopped functioning in the app, including lists and reminders. You’ll have to use either Cortana on Windows or the To Do app on Android and iOS to fetch your information.

The end had been coming for a while. Microsoft warned it would shut down Cortana for Android and iOS in July 2020, when it said it would shift the focus of the Halo-inspired AI assistant to helping users with Microsoft 365 services. Harman Kardon even started removing Cortana from its Invoke smart speaker, a showcase for Microsoft’s helper, earlier this March.

It’s an unfortunate loss if you’re steeped in the Microsoft ecosystem. At the same time, it’s an acknowledgment that Cortana never really took off on mobile due to established, easier-to-reach competition.