LG’s upcoming G7 ThinQ could have a dedicated button for Google Assistant

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“Hey Google, how do I reassign this button?”

LG's next flagship handset, the LG G7 ThinQ, could be getting a dedicated Google Assistant button, according to a new report from CNET. 

Set to be revealed in New York on May 2, 2018, the G7 ThinQ will reportedly include a physical button on the left side of the phone that will launch Google Assistant when pressed. 

The featured button is very similar to what competitor Samsung has implemented on each of its flagship phones since last year's Galaxy S8, all of which sport a dedicated (and somewhat controversial) button for the company's own proprietary AI voice assistant, Bixby.

Better than Bixby?

Though it pioneered the dedicated voice assistant button, not everyone is a fan of Samsung's approach with Bixby, with stories explaining how to disable the Bixby key still being quite common over a year after its launch. 

If accurate, the LG G7 ThinQ will be the first product with a dedicated button for launching Google Assistant — we just hope LG also offers the ability to disable or remap the button, because nothing is more frustrating than the accidental launch of a voice assistant. 

The South Korean electronics giant appears to be doubling down hard on artificial intelligence this year — it's the the company's second 2018 handset to boast its AI-focused ThinQ branding after the LG V30S ThinQ.

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Stephen Lambrechts
Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment

Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible. 

He's also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.