Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P could get Google Assistant soon

The Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are great phones in a lot of ways, but it’s their use of Google Assistant that really helps them stand out. Or at least, it is for now, but it looks like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P could soon get Google’s AI voice helper too.

The news comes from Stephen Hall, senior editor at 9to5Google, who tweeted that he was recently told Google Assistant will arrive on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P with the next “major” update.

What’s not clear is what “major” means. Android 7.1.2 has started rolling out to these phones in beta form, with no sign of Google Assistant (though it is adding a handy feature to the fingerprint scanner), so the earliest we might see it is Android 7.1.3, but we doubt that’s going to be a major update.

Coming soon, but maybe not that soon

More likely Assistant will arrive with Android 7.2, or perhaps not until Android O, but assuming this information is right it’s sure to arrive at some point this year, and quite possibly in the next few months.

But if you can’t wait that long, or just want Google Assistant without having to use a Pixel or Nexus handset, you may well be able to get it on the LG G6 too.

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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