Dedicated AI buttons are spreading across Android phones, but at least one of them is more useful after the AI is removed. An Android Authority writer found that the HONOR 600 Pro lets its extra key launch ordinary tools, apps and specific in-app actions.
The writer, Megan Ellis, had mostly triggered the phone's assistant by accident. While looking for a way to disable the button, she found separate controls for a single press, double press and long press, along with a Quick Services menu that reaches beyond HONOR's AI features.
Three gestures, three everyday jobs
Ellis mapped a single press to the flashlight, a double press to the Notesnook app and a long press to Pokémon Go. Those choices replace trips through Quick Settings, the app drawer or a crowded home screen with a physical shortcut that works by feel.
Quick Services can go deeper than simply opening an app. The available actions included creating a new Google Calendar event, starting a song-recognition search in Deezer and opening Firefox's password manager. The exact list depends on which apps and actions the phone recognizes.
The useful part is user control
Not every dedicated AI key is this flexible. Ellis contrasts the HONOR phone with a Motorola Edge 70 review unit whose button can trigger AI features or be disabled, with no comparable set of non-AI mappings.
That difference turns the hardware question into a software one. An extra button can be a nuisance when it exists mainly to push an assistant, but the same key becomes a compact productivity tool when the owner controls its gestures. People considering the feature should check their specific model's remapping options rather than assuming every Android AI button works the same way.
