Microsoft’s plan for Invoke speakers is likely to cause the most resentment. The company will send a firmware update to the smart device to make it a Bluetooth speaker. “The firmware update will be automatically delivered to WiFi-connected devices within six months of its release,” the company said.
As an olive branch for Invoke owners, Microsoft plans to send them $ 50 gift cards. To be eligible, you must have used your Invoke speaker to ask Cortana something between July 31 and before today’s announcement.
As previously mentioned, Microsoft also plans to remove the current version of Cortana from its first-generation surface headphones in early 2021. Once the change is made, you will still be able to use the digital assistant, but only through the integration that it comes with Outlook Mobile. First-generation Surface earphone owners can get a $ 25 gift card.
“We have spent a lot of time thinking about this transition and we understand that these changes can be detrimental to some of our clients,” the company said.
How Verge pointsThe changes mark a further step in Cortana’s reinvention as a productivity-focused digital assistant. Cortana is not going to go away, but Microsoft is tweaking the software to better complement applications like Outlook and Teams. In doing so, the company probably hopes to carve out a niche for the digital assistant away from the likes of Assistant and Alexa. Of course, all of that is a small consolation if you bought the company’s original vision for Cortana.
