Recently, while watching the documentary The Beatles: Get Back, a familiar yet unidentified song flashed on screen. 'What was that?' I asked my partner. Neither of us knew. But my Pixel 6 had it covered—right on the lock screen, it displayed 'Dig a Pony' by The Beatles, courtesy of Android's Now Playing feature.
I'm no music aficionado; I often loop the same albums and note catchy tracks mentally. Now, with Now Playing, I effortlessly check my phone's history for songs from playlists or movies. It even works offline—I tested it in airplane mode with an unfamiliar track.
If you own a Pixel 2 or later, here's how to enable Now Playing and maximize its potential, based on my hands-on experience.
Now Playing relies on a device-based music database for offline use, covering thousands of tracks. For rarer songs, Pixel 4+ users can enable cloud search to expand it. On the Now Playing settings screen, toggle Show search button on lock screen.
When a song is detected, it appears on the lock screen and in notifications. Customize these in Now Playing settings by tapping Notifications.
Review detected songs anytime via Settings > Sound & vibration > Now Playing > Now Playing history. Tap any entry to play it in your preferred music app.
Skip the menu diving: In Now Playing history, tap the three-dot menu > Add to Home screen. Drag the icon to your preferred spot.
Now Playing is exclusive to Pixel 2+. For alternatives, XDA Developers offers a background music module working on some OnePlus and other Android devices. Apps like Shazam (available on iOS/Android since Apple's 2018 acquisition) provide reliable identification, though they require internet and manual activation.
