Summary Google is rolling out album artwork and the option to select a default music player for Pixel’s Now Playing feature.
YouTube Music, YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Music can be set as your default Now Playing music player.
These updates are rolling out gradually to Pixel 6 and newer devices as a server-side update. ✕ Remove Ads
Google’s Now Playing tool is easily one of my favorite background features because, well, it just works (barring when it was bugged out earlier this year).
The Shazam alternative, which first landed on Pixel devices back in 2017, is now receiving a facelift, with some of its new features already spotted in the months leading up to the December 2024 Pixel Feature Drop.
The handy feature was first reported to be gaining album artwork support for identified music back in early November. Fast-forward to the December 2024 Pixel Feature Drop, and Google officially confirmed the minor, but welcome tweak. Now, it looks like the feature has finally begun landing on user devices, and it brings a big usability upgrade we recently spotted in tow (more on that later).
The rollout was first spotted by 9to5Google, highlighting that the ‘Show search button on lock screen’ toggle has now been renamed to ‘Enhance Now Playing.’ The change is promptly surfaced in the form of a pop-up when you first navigate to the section via Settings → Sound & vibration → Now Playing.