Google is preparing many changes for the Now Playing feature on Pixel phones. And I'm really looking forward to them

The clever Google Pixel phone feature called Now Playing, which can identify music playing nearby, will soon receive a series of interesting changes. Some are related to design, while others could potentially make it easier to use. Overall, I can say that as a Pixel 9 Pro XL owner, I’m really looking forward to them, and therefore I thank Android Authority for publishing the early previews.

Major Design Transformation on the Lock Screen

The Now Playing feature currently displays only the song title and artist quite discreetly on the phone’s lock screen, but this will partially change in one of the upcoming updates.

After clicking on the song details, a long, colored pill with album art and two buttons will appear. Clicking the first one will allow you to mark the song as a favorite, while the second one will take you directly to your preferred music platform (YouTube Music, Spotify, etc.), where you can instantly play the song.

Lock Screen Shortcut

We’ll stay on the lock screen for a bit longer. Dataminer AssembleDebug also discovered that Now Playing can be set as a shortcut. Holding it will immediately start identifying playing music, as shown in the preview published on platform X.

The new Now Playing UI with the new Now Playing lockscreen shortcut 🚀 pic.twitter.com/6AkFl4pjiQ

— AssembleDebug (Shiv) (@AssembleDebug) July 26, 2025

From a design perspective, I see it as an improvement, although its practical significance somewhat eludes me. Activating Now Playing using the button located below the fingerprint reader is certainly not inconvenient; quite the opposite.

Now Playing as a Standalone App

Now Playing is part of the Android System Intelligence system component and does not appear as a standalone application – the feature’s settings can be accessed via system settings, and you can only place a widget on the home screen that shows you the history of identified songs.

However, Android Authority discovered that Now Playing will appear as a standalone application, so it can be accessed via the app drawer (see gallery above). What exact benefit this will ultimately have is not yet clear, but if Google manages to unify all settings and history under one roof, I believe no one will be upset.

How do you rate the Now Playing feature?

Sources: Android Authority (1, 2), AssembleDebug/X