Microsoft Launcher for Android losing Cortana by ‘end of April’

Chalk this up as another casualty in Cortana’s continued evolution.

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What you need to know

Microsoft announced today that Cortana services will soon be dropped from Microsoft Launcher for Android. Microsoft plans to discontinue Cortana services in Microsoft Launcher by the end of April. The company outline the move in ablog postabout some larger changes coming to Cortana.

This move is part of a larger shift in Microsoft’s Cortana strategy. Rather than being an assistant across devices, Microsoft is focusing the AI backbone of Cortana towards making people more productive. “This next step in Cortana’s evolution will bring enhanced, seamless personal productivity assistance as a free update to the latest version of Windows 10 coming this spring,” Microsoft said in today’s blog post.

There are further casualties as part of this process, beyond Cortana in Microsoft Launcher. Microsoft also announced that it is dropping Cortana support in versions of Windows 10 that have reached their end-of-service dates, including Windows 10 Mobile. Further, Cortana skills are being dropped entirely.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter@DthorpLand Instagram@heyitsdtl.