Now Playing could soon regain one of its most useful capabilities across Pixel 6 to Pixel 11 phones, as Google is reportedly working on restoring notification support for the music recognition tool.
Now Playing is one of the best Pixel-exclusive apps, allowing you to instantly identify any song playing in the background. In its current form, the app already covers the essential requirements of an ideal music recognition tool, but Google appears keen to improve it further.
How Now Playing currently works
Google launched Now Playing in 2017 with the Pixel 2. It remained a dedicated feature on Google phones until March this year, when it was replaced by a standalone app. Its function is straightforward: once installed, it keeps recognising songs playing in the background and displays the result on the lock screen.
However, not everyone prefers locking their screen simply to discover which song is playing. Displaying the identified track somewhere on the active screen, such as the notification bar, would be far more convenient. Users could then swipe down from the top of the display and check the song title without having to lock the phone.
Evidence of the returning feature
Google is reportedly working on introducing exactly this capability. Within the Android System Intelligence app available for Pixel 11 phones, signs related to Now Playing notifications have been spotted. The identified string reads: enableMusicRecognitionNotifications.
The wording strongly suggests Google could soon add an option allowing users to enable notifications for the Now Playing app. While an image indicates how the new capability could appear, it does not function at present.
Before the standalone app arrived, Now Playing displayed identified songs in the notification centre in addition to the lock screen. To use it, you opened the Settings menu and navigated to Display, then Lock screen, then Now Playing, then Notifications, before enabling the toggle next to “Allow Android System Intelligence notifications”.
The Pixel 5 and earlier phones are incompatible with the app, as they reached their official end of software update support in 2023, and the app arrived with the March 2026 Pixel Drop. On those phones, Now Playing most likely works as a feature, meaning it shows identified songs in the notifications panel as well.
The notification capability is one many Pixel fans have missed since Google launched the feature as an app. A workaround is available to try until Google restores this capability. The identified string related to Now Playing notifications was found within the Android System Intelligence app for the Pixel 11.
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Image: phonearena.com
