The Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P will get Google Assistant according to a new rumor. While the software has thus far been confined to the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL when it comes to smartphones, it seems that Google will be adding it to last year’s Nexus devices, although it’s also worth noting that the A.I. software has been rumored to come through to these devices through a “major update” and not just a small incremental software bump, which may suggest other features are on the horizon as well as major updates usually have more than one new feature and a handful of bug fixes and improvements.
In addition to being rumored for a major update, the rumor also states that it will be the next major update, and that it will be added in soon, so that could mean that a major update is just around the corner for the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. Having said that, the update that is really just around the corner for any of the supported Nexus and Pixel devices is Android 7.1.2, and this is a small update that focuses on bug fixes, so it doesn’t really fit the bill for when this feature would be added in, nor is it really a major update.
It’s also possible that Google Assistant won’t actually be added in for the 2016 Nexus smartphones until Google releases the next major version of Android software after Nougat, which wouldn’t be happening until later on this year in the Fall as this is when Google typically launches new software versions. If this is the case, though, then that really isn’t too “soon” as it’s only now just the second day of February, and that puts the Fall season about 7 months away. With very little detail it leaves a lot of questions unanswered, but the good news for owners of the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P is that Google Assistant will be coming, which will open up a whole bunch of new functionality, potentially interaction with Home Control, although so far Google has only noted that they would be adding support for the Pixel and Pixel XL. One thing that Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P users will get relatively quickly is the fingerprint gesture to open the notification shade, as this will be available with the Android 7.1.2 update.