According to a new report, LG is planning to include a dedicated hardware button for Google Assistant on its upcoming G7 ThinQ flagship smartphone, following in the steps of Samsung’s Bixby button.
LG is the next major Android handset manufacturer that will be announcing its spring flagship device, and it will be holding an event in New York on May 2 to do just that. According to a new report from CNET, the device will include a dedicated button for Google Assistant.
As you can see from the image above, the power button is on the left side of the device, so the Assistant button will be on the right. The move follows in Samsung’s footsteps, as it included a dedicated Bixby button beginning with last year’s Galaxy S8. The idea never took off with Samsung’s devices, although Bixby really hasn’t either, so perhaps a Google Assistant button will gain more traction.
The G6 successor won’t just be called the G7; it will be called the G7 ThinQ (actually pronounced “Thin-Queue”). If you’re unfamiliar, ThinQ was launched as a brand ahead of CES as LG’s AI offerings, and Google Assistant has always been a part of that. It’s extremely likely that the company won’t only be boasting Google’s AI products in its new flagship phone, but also its machine learning, called DeepThinQ.
Other than that, there aren’t a ton of details available for the G7 ThinQ. It should be running Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 845, and the display is expected to have a notch at the top. We’re only a couple of weeks away from the product launch, so make sure to check back on May 2.
