14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has started testing another change on the Windows 10 desktop that’s expected to be well received by the majority of users.
Cortana will be separated from the Windows Search in a future Windows 10 update, and Microsoft is now running a limited test as part of the Windows Insider program to see how this could work.
Rumors regarding a possible separation of the two features in Windows 10 made the rounds the first time earlier this year, especially as Microsoft is working to improve the search feature. Cortana, on the other hand, could have a different fate, as the digital assistant’s adoption figures aren’t as high as Microsoft anticipated, particularly on the desktop.
With this change, which is now available for a few users running Windows 10 preview build 18298, Cortana and the Windows Search come with their dedicated icons in the taskbar and users can launch them individually.
Bye-bye, Cortana!
Opening the digital assistant no longer brings forward a search box that allows users to search the web, and any such query needs to be performed from the dedicated search UI also available in the taskbar. Cortana can only be used for interacting with the digital assistant.
Needless to say, given this is just a test, for the time being, there’s a good chance that Microsoft could make further improvements in the coming months ahead of the debut of Windows 10 19H1. Also, expect the company to release the update to all insiders at some point in the next couple of months, but only if it decides to make it available for everyone with the launch of 19H1.
For now, what’s pretty clear is that Cortana’s role in Windows 10 won’t be as important as it was when the operating system first launched in 2015. And it’s all happening for a good reason: almost nobody uses Cortana on the desktop.