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Microsoft Shutting Down Cortana App for iOS and Android

djeeyore25 said:
I’ll take the trade of removing Cortana from the Invoke speakers for $50 gift cards. I only paid $50 a piece for my pair of Invokes, so it‘s like getting two Bluetooth speakers for free.
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I was excited when I first read the email today. Until I read that you had to have used the Cortana as a voice assistant in the six months before the announcement today in order to qualify for the $50 gift card. I was so frustrated and annoyed by Cortana (whyyyyyyyyyy did they force Invoke owners to use ONLY Cortana to set up the thing????) that I unplugged the Invoke and threw it on the top shelf of my closet almost a year ago.

Today, after reading the email, I decided to try setting it up to see if there was a firmware update that would make the setup more reliable. NOPE. I can't even get Cortana to connect to it now! When I first got this thing, I spent most of an entire weekend trying to set it up. Yes, I'm a Mac user. Yes, I own an iPhone. Yes, I was stupid to buy hardware that depended on a Microsoft app to even be set up! But I'm a true fan of Harmon Kardon, and if I could just get the Invoke to WORK AS A BLUETOOTH SPEAKER, I'd be a happy person. Instead, it looks like I have a $200 paperweight, since Cortana is such garbage that I can't even connect it to Bluetooth.
 
farewelwilliams said:
a digital assistant that you had to launch the app manually in order to use turns out to be not very useful? who would have seen that coming?
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To be fair, what you describe is actually a side-effect of iOS's restrictions (the inability to override Siri as the default virtual assistant) rather than a deliberate choice by Microsoft.

I'm sure Microsoft would have preferred users to be able to launch Cortana via Siri's input, just as they would prefer to offer more than one title on their xCloud Beta, but ultimately it's iOS/App Store restrictions that end up determining how easy and/or useful any non-Apple app is.
 
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It’s like Microsoft has been throwing too much at the wall for the past 5 years and not much sticks. I would be wary of picking up either those devices they are planning named Duo or Neo. I spent more than a decade supporting Microsoft products and services and do appreciate a lot of the technology, but one morning I woke up and took note of the fact that the only Windows device I have is a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 from 2013. My default devices are my iPhone X, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and Apple Watch. It’s not likely I consciously chose this path, it just became the inevitable better choice.

I personally feel worried about Windows 10, its like its going nowhere.
 
I have the Invoke speaker by Harmon Kardon. I don’t know if it will even work without Cortana. It seems they could at least leave it working or give a full refund for devices sold that work only with Cortana. Sucks! I also own a HomePod, which is much better due to the ecosystem. But in reality, the sound is very close for music. Which doesn’t seem likely looking at the two. Harmon Kardon picked the wrong partner.
 
JimmyBanks6 said:
Like Windows Phone, this software had a rabid fanbase of about 6 people who spammed tech forums constantly about how superior it was. Good riddance.
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:( but Windows Phone WAS really good. The People Hub was way better than the Contacts app in iOS. The developer support just wasn’t going to happen due to how the OS & UX design didn’t encourage usage that helped drive “engagement” metrics. Data from social media apps would be aggregated into the People Hub so you never had to open TW/LI/FB apps - so users never saw ads. I eventually switched back to iOS after 3 years (2012-2015) on WP/Nokia devices.
 
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When it launched, Cortana was ahead of everyone else... even if it was brief. Making it available on non-Windows 10 devices was the down fall IMO. Second issue was even if they tried, you can't change your digital assistant on iOS devices.
 
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ThaGoochiestMane said:
To be fair, what you describe is actually a side-effect of iOS's restrictions (the inability to override Siri as the default virtual assistant) rather than a deliberate choice by Microsoft.

I'm sure Microsoft would have preferred users to be able to launch Cortana via Siri's input, just as they would prefer to offer more than one title on their xCloud Beta, but ultimately it's iOS/App Store restrictions that end up determining how easy and/or useful any non-Apple app is.
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That's like saying "I'm going to build a new operating system for iPhone" and then making tons of compromises to fit the App Store policies to the point where it's not useful at all.

Point is that someone on the team should have simply told the manager "let's not do this until iOS relaxes the restrictions".
 
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There's a reason many of the new (Summer 2020/Back To School) Windows laptops include Alexa instead of Cortana now - Microsoft is giving up on Cortana because it could never gain traction in the market.
 
Black Magic said:
This is why I don't jump on Microsoft or Google consumer products. They more than likely will be abandoned. I posted this many years back in this forum and MS fanboys got heated.
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I recall google reader, had it there as a chrome extension, worked perfectly fine and for some reason they decided to deprecate then obsolete it don’t know why... using Feedly now, where I get of all the other things, the MacRumors goodness.

Would be great if you find a screenshot or link to that comment for our downvoting friends over here.
 
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ah - cortana
the photo reminds me cortana from halo game
if only halo would up the development for pc to a better level
 
amartinez1660 said:
I recall google reader, had it there as a chrome extension, worked perfectly fine and for some reason they decided to deprecate then obsolete it don’t know why... using Feedly now, where I get of all other the things, the MacRumors goodness.

Would be great if you find a screenshot or link to that comment for our downvoting friends over here.
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It’s always fun to check out https://killedbygoogle.com/ when you want to find out which workflows Alphabet wants to kill next.
 
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Remember when Microsoft made ads comparing Cortana with Siri and how Siri was inferior?
 
Has anyone else gotten the impression that Microsoft is struggling to remain relevant with the competition they’re facing from Apple and Google?

Which mobile operating systems dominate the market? iOS and Android. Microsoft tried unsuccessfully to be a viable third offering in that market.

I feel like the same might happen to Windows within the next few years. As far as I can see, the biggest thing going for Windows is gaming. Nobody does serious gaming on a Mac or Chromebook, presently. However, if Apple and/or Google worked towards make their hardware and software more attractive for game developers, that might be the death blow to Windows.

Honestly, I own a laptop running Windows 10 and I’m not that big a fan of the OS. I’m waiting for Apple to release their first Apple Silicon Macs so I can buy one. I think Microsoft should eventually abandon Windows and focus their efforts on their 365 suite and on the Xbox.
 
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