You asked for it. You've asked for years. And while manufacturers like Samsung and LG have long obliged us, Google has refused. With the coming of the Pixel phones, we're starting over - literally. Google may finally, thankfully, mercifully be adding a reboot button to the power menu on its new smartphones, which will run Android 7.1 out of the box. Praise be unto whoever achieved this (Artem will be here shortly to claim it was him which, frankly, it very possibly was - I was there when he pleaded for it at I/O).

According to a reliable tipster, Google has added a reboot button to the upcoming Pixel and Pixel XL phones as part of Android 7.1. You can see a snapshot below. We have been able to verify the authenticity of this photo, and I know it's not much to go on, but trust us: it's real.

The catch here is that because this is still prerelease software, it's possible the button is there just to make life easier for developers and testers during this pre-launch time. It could be removed in the final builds. But Google, that would be so, so cruel. Almost unthinkably inhuman, one might say. ARE YOU LISTENING, GOOGLE?

So, will the reboot button come to existing Nexus devices with Android 7.1? We sure hope so, and I can't see a real reason why it wouldn't if the Pixels are getting it. The global power commands in Android contain a reboot function, it's just a matter of exposing it in the UI, so there's absolutely nothing to stop Google - that we're aware of - from adding it in to any device that will be getting Android 7.1.

Well, it only took... 8 years. Please don't let this be some awful tease, Google.