LG G7 ThinQ will reportedly feature a Google Assistant button

You can already call up Google Assistant with your voice or with the Google app. If you pick up LG’s rumored G7 ThinQ, however, you might be able to call up Google’s virtual personal assistant with the push of a button.

According to CNET, which cited people familiar with the G7 ThinQ’s development, the Google Assistant button will be on the left side of the phone. The power button is reportedly on the right, while the fingerprint reader remains on the back.

In addition to the standard queries, Google Assistant on the G7 ThinQ will reportedly include custom LG commands. No specific commands were listed in the report.

The report would make the G7 ThinQ the first smartphone to feature a dedicated Google Assistant button. Samsung already employs a similar strategy with a dedicated button for Bixby on its flagship smartphones.

As with the Bixby button, the G7 ThinQ’s Google Assistant button reportedly cannot be reprogrammed to call up a different app. It is unknown whether you can disable the Google Assistant button.

Regardless of the inability to reprogram it, the Google Assistant button stands to benefit Google as it pushes its virtual assistant to more people.

Over time, Google Assistant has made its way to televisions, smartphones, tablets, and speakers. Amazon has coincidentally done the same with its Alexa assistant, which can be found in Echo speakers, cars, refrigerators, and everything in between.

The report would also benefit LG as the company hopes to regain relevancy in the smartphone market. With the V30S ThinQ, LG made evident that AI is the differentiator for its devices.

That differentiator will be front and center for the G7 ThinQ, which LG will announce in New York City on May 2 and Seoul on May 3. The phone will be the first flagship since LG announced its change in strategy.