Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. Android
  4. Mobile
  5. Smart Home
  6. News

Why Google and T-Mobile are bringing back phone booths

Add as a preferred source on Google

Google is setting up yet another campaign to push the Google Assistant. This time around, the company is teaming up with T-Mobile to install experimental demos in signature T-Mobile stores in Chicago and San Francisco for three months.

The demos aim to blend old tech with new tech — they are styled after phone booths, and inside them, customers will be able to both demo hardware like the LG G7 ThinQ, JBL Pulse 3, and Google Home Mini, and software — the Google Assistant. Of course, once you have experienced Google Assistant, you will be able to buy compatible devices from T-Mobile.

Recommended Videos

One of the demos is called “Tiny Gym,” and basically involves customers asking Google Assistant to play a workout playlist while customers use resistance bands. “Tiny Kitchen” involves Assistant looking up recipes and setting timers for cooking time. Last but not least is “Tiny Museum,” in which customers can pick up a phone and use Google Lens to learn about paintings and artists featured in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Google says the demos will be running for “about the next three months,” and you can check them out for yourselves at T-Mobile’s flagship stores in Chicago and San Francisco.

Google has been pushing Assistant a lot over the last few months. This isn’t even the first time we have seen the phone booth demos, which first showed up at CES earlier in the year. Then, just a few months ago, the company launched a mini-golf pop-up in New York City, in which each hole was aimed at showcasing what Google Assistant can do in a different room of the house. It’s likely we will see more experiences like this as Google continues to take on the likes of Amazon’s Alexa.

It’s also pretty likely that we will continue to see more and more devices will Google Assistant loaded onto them over the next few years. JBL recently announced the Link Bar, which a sound bar with Android TV and Google Assistant loaded straight onto it. Not only that, but dozens of new phones with Assistant are launched every month — only further growing Google’s ecosystem.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
Instagram could soon let you watch Reels while offline with automatic downloads
A new leak suggests Instagram is working on automatic downloads for Reels, which could let you continue your binge even without an internet connection.
Instagram and YouTube

Instagram could soon let users continue their Reels binge even when they're offline. A new leak suggests the app is working on automatic downloads for short-form videos, a move that would bring it closer to YouTube, which already allows offline viewing of Shorts.

What is Instagram working on?

Read more
Android 17 will let apps get the best out of your phone’s camera chops
A new vendor-defined extension system could bring advanced camera features like Super Resolution to your favorite third-party apps.
Android 17 logo.

Android 17 is shaping up to be quite an important update, especially if you care about camera quality across apps. Google is introducing a new way for phone makers to extend their custom camera features system-wide, which could finally close the gap between stock camera apps and third-party ones.

How is Android changing camera access for apps?

Read more
Google is preparing a priority charging feature for phones for rush scenarios
A hidden Android 17 feature appears built for quick top-ups, while keeping calls and texts flowing.
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

Google is working on a priority charging feature designed for moments when you need power quickly. The option, uncovered in Android 17 beta code by Android Authority, focuses on boosting usable battery in a short window without shutting down core phone functions.

Instead of pushing higher charging speeds, the system shifts power toward the battery by dialing back background activity. Calls and texts still come through, but less critical processes pause so more energy goes into charging.

Read more