Physical Google Assistant buttons are coming to more phones along with new features

Over the last year, LG has introduced a handful of phones that feature dedicated Google Assistant buttons. Google is now working with several smartphone manufacturers to bring the physical Assistant button to more handsets.

At MWC 2019, Google announced that the Assistant button is coming to LG’s and Nokia’s entire lineup of upcoming smartphones. This list of devices includes the LG G8 ThinQ, LG K40, LG K50, LG Q60, Nokia 3.2, and Nokia 4.2.

Google has also partnered with Xiaomi, TCL, and vivo to bring the Assistant key to its phones. We should expect the button to be available on the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, Mi 9, vivo V15 Pro, and more.

The search giant states that it expects over 100 million new devices to be released with a physical Assistant button. Maybe this means there’ll be an Assistant button on the Pixel 4 series?

New Google Assistant button features

When you press the AI button on the LG G7, it launches Google Assistant just as if you long-pressed on the Home button. But going forward, the physical Assistant button will have some new functionality.

First, Google is adding a double tap feature. When you double press the button, the Assistant will launch a new visual interface. Google states that the screen will display curated information that is based on previous Assistant interactions, the time of day, and the user’s current location.

An example of the visual snapshot can be seen below.

Secondly, the Assistant will launch a walkie talkie mode when the button is long pressed. For the entire duration that the button is held down, the Assistant will continue to listen to queries. As Google states, this feature will be most useful when dictating long text messages or emails.

What do you think about dedicated Google Assistant buttons? Do you want your next smartphone to have one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.