Google seems to be preparing a small but potentially helpful change for its Pixel-exclusive song detection tool, Now Playing. According to a new APK breakdown, the company is quietly working on giving this feature more visibility through a dedicated app icon in the app drawer.
Now Playing, which has been a staple on Pixel phones since the Pixel 2 series, works automatically in the background to identify songs playing nearby. It stores that information locally and lets users review a history of recognized songs. But the feature has mostly lost some of its initial hype, and Google may be looking to change that.
In an APK teardown of the latest Android 16 Canary build, it was discovered that Now Playing may soon get its own standalone icon in the app drawer. The icon is disabled by default for now, but it can be manually activated in test builds. When tapped, it takes users to the familiar Now Playing history screen inside the Android System Intelligence app.
The “Now Playing” feature might get its own app icon on Pixels. | Images credit — Android Authority
It’s not clear why Google has decided to surface this feature more prominently, but it could come down to usability. While many Pixel users are familiar with Now Playing’s ambient song detection, some may not know there’s a history page at all, let alone how to access it. A dedicated app icon solves that issue, making the feature easier to find and use.
At this point, there are no signs that Google is planning to expand Now Playing to non-Pixel devices. The feature remains exclusive to Pixel phones, and nothing in the latest Android code suggests that’s changing anytime soon.
Still, for current Pixel users, this small tweak could make a meaningful difference in how often they use the feature. Now I’m just waiting for Google to do the same thing with the Google Password Manager, which can only be added to the home screen as a shortcut, and with no way to easily access it from the app drawer.
