What to know

  • Google plans to upgrade the Now Playing feature on Pixel phones by adding album art to replace the generic note icon on the history page.
  • The feature will integrate with YouTube Music to display album artwork and use Google Search for unrecognized songs.
  • Now Playing expands its capabilities with cloud search and Song Search features, including "Hum to Search" technology.

Google's popular Now Playing feature on Pixel phones is getting improvements. The ambient music recognition tool, which has been a staple of Pixel phones since 2017, will soon display album artwork instead of the basic musical note icon currently shown on the history page.

The enhancement comes as part of Google's ongoing efforts to polish the user experience on Pixel devices. You can find the Now Playing history under Settings > Sound & vibration, where the feature lists all identified songs in reverse chronological order. Currently, it shows just the song name, artist, and a generic note icon for each entry.

Images via 9To5Google

The technology behind Now Playing is evolving. Your Pixel phone downloads a database of popular song fingerprints for your region. When it detects music, the phone's low-power processor analyzes the audio and matches it to these fingerprints, displaying the song information on your lock screen and in notifications. For songs not in the local database, the system will now tap into Google Search for identification.

The upcoming update will pull album artwork directly from YouTube Music, making the feature more visually appealing and informative. This integration makes complete sense, given Google's ownership of the music streaming platform.

Google has also enhanced its Song Search capabilities, adding a Quick Settings Tile and a new app shortcut icon in the Google app. The feature includes innovative tools like "Hum to Search," representing Google's latest advancement in song recognition technology.

Version 13 of Android System Intelligence has already brought some changes to life. The app shortcut has been renamed from "Now Playing history" to simply "Now Playing," removing the ellipsis for a cleaner appearance. The shortcut icon has also received a subtle update with more rounded corners for the artwork square, though it still lacks a Themed icon option.

Images via 9To5Google

While the exact release date for these visual and functional enhancements remains unannounced, the features' implementation is already visible in recent code changes to the Private Compute Services system app, which handles the Now Playing database.

The update represents the most significant change to Now Playing in years, breathing new life into one of the most beloved Pixel-exclusive features that has remained largely unchanged since its introduction.

Source: 9To5Google