LG Electronics and Google are currently in the process of deepening their business collaboration in many industry segments, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, adding that the two have just agreed to have the Google Assistant pre-installed on the LG V30, the upcoming high-end smartphone that the South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is scheduled to officially announce next Thursday, August 31. While the device was already expected to feature Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) companion seeing how the LG G6 also supported it out of the box, the V30 will supposedly debut the Korean version of the thereof which Google is still actively developing. The Mountain View, California-based Internet giant previously meant to release the Korean variant of the Google Assistant in late 2017 but is now aiming to have it ready by the end of September at LG’s request, sources said.
With Samsung’s Bixby and Apple’s Siri already supporting Korean, LG is hoping that it will be able to more effectively compete with its two largest rivals in the Far Eastern country by having a localized version of the Google Assistant available on the V30. It’s currently unclear whether this particular variant of the service will be a timed exclusive for the LG V30, though that seems like a probable scenario and both iOS and other Android devices are likely to receive Google Assistant’s Korean integration in the future. The move is said to be the latest step in LG and Google’s partnership which has been strengthening in recent times, with the Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer being the first to adopt Android Wear 2.0 earlier this year and implementing Google Home support into a number of its new Internet of Things (IoT) offerings, in addition to supporting Google’s self-driving endeavors, insiders said, without clarifying on the matter.
The two are also collaborating on other smartphone fronts, with LG reportedly being the designated manufacturer of the upcoming Pixel 2 XL which the Alphabet-owned company is expected to launch in early October. The handset is said to feature a nearly bezel-less 18:9 display panel similar to the one found on the LG G6 and V30 which Google indirectly funded by investing a trillion won ($886 million) into LG Display’s OLED operations this spring.