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| The only Cortana speaker eliminates Microsoft's digital assistant |
Harman Kardon's Invoke speaker is preparing to receive an update on Wednesday that will turn off Microsoft's digital assistant called Cortana and convert it into a standard Bluetooth speaker.
The software giant once imagined the future would be full of refrigerators, toasters, and thermostats powered by Cortana, a voice assistant, but it never succeeded.
Invoke is the first and only Cortana-compatible speaker to hit the market in 2017.
After Microsoft announced last year that it was shutting down its digital assistant on multiple devices, Harman Kardon is pushing for an Invoke speaker update to remove Cortana.
Harman Kardon advises users to keep Invoke Speakers online overnight to receive the update, which for some reason will not be available after June 30, 2021.
Harman Kardon said: Please note that Cortana services via Harman Kardon Invoke will be ending in the next few months whether or not you receive the update.
As the company explained, the decision to end support for Cortana came from Microsoft, not Harman Kardon, saying: Microsoft decided to end Cortana integration support for spokesperson Harman Kardon Invoke in January 2021.
Microsoft worked closely with Harman Kardon to create a hardware migration plan that can reduce the impact of this migration for some customers. Microsoft found that very few users participate in Cortana's productivity-oriented tasks.
Cortana voice assistant also disappears from iOS, Android, and even Microsoft's Surface Speaker.
Microsoft initially developed a larger plan for the Cortana voice assistant in 2016.
Microsoft outlined its vision to integrate digital assistants into refrigerators, toasters, and other IoT devices, but digital assistants never succeed.
In addition, Microsoft Digital Assistant no longer supports the GLAS Cortana thermostat.
Microsoft now sees Cortana's value in conversational AI, and the company is trying to reposition Cortana as a skill that can be played anywhere rather than competing with Alexa or the Google Assistant.
After the company disconnected from Windows 10 Search and muted the digital assistant during the OS setup process, Cortana is increasingly being used to improve Microsoft's products across the enterprise.