Windows 10 version 2004 to kill most Cortona consumer features

Microsoft is shifting Cortona towards productivity-only with the upcoming Windows 10 version 2004 build. In a new blog post, the software giant reveals Cortona's emphasis will now be on productivity, most of the consumer-focused features will be phased out.

ARS Technica chronicles some of the changes and notes this is bad news for Cortana-centered smart home setups.

As part of Cortana’s evolution into a personal productivity assistant in Microsoft 365, you’ll see some changes in how Cortana works in the latest version of Windows 10. We’ve tightened access to Cortana so that you must be securely logged in with your work or school account or your Microsoft account before using Cortana, and some consumer skills including music, connected home and third-party skills will no longer be available in the updated Cortana experience in Windows 10. We’re also making some changes to where Cortana helps you. As part of our standard practice, we are ending support for Cortana in older versions of Windows that have reached their end-of-service dates. We recommend that customers update their devices to the latest version of Windows 10 to continue using Cortana. We’ll also be turning off the Cortana services in the Microsoft Launcher on Android by the end of April.

Users will still be able to control home devices and smart speakers via Cortana apps on iOS and Android, but those are also being phased out. The new Windows 10 build is expected this Spring.