Google is finally reversing that annoying “Now Playing” downgrade on Pixels

Pixel’s Now Playing feature has long been a silent friend that saves you from wondering, “What is that song?” It recognizes the music around you and displays the answer on your lock screen, often before you even hit Shazam. Google made this simple trick less convenient earlier this year, but new reports from Reddit suggest that “Now Playing” notifications are finally making a comeback.

Users are once again seeing recognized songs appear in the notification shade. The restored notification displays the song title and artist. When you click the drop-down arrow, a shortcut to your favorite songs or “Now Playing” story should appear. This means you can check what’s playing without locking your phone, opening an app, or opening the Quick Settings tile.

The return shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. We first discovered evidence in August that Google was preparing to restore the feature. The code inside Android System Intelligence referenced a toggle for music recognition notifications, although the option didn’t work at the time.

Subsequent teardown of the APK gave us working proof. We enabled the notification and its Favorites and History buttons before Google made them publicly available. The same teardown revealed work on support for additional users and a history synchronization feature.

Google removed Now Playing notifications when it moved the feature into a separate app with the March Pixel Drop. Songs continued to appear on the lock screen, but the loss of notifications also disrupted third-party tools that used them to send listening data to services like Last.fm.

Pixel owners should ensure that Now Playing and Android System Intelligence are up to date and that notifications for the latter are enabled. Google’s own support documentation says that “Now Playing” notifications can appear regardless of whether the phone is locked or unlocked, further signaling that the feature is officially returning.

For now, reports remain limited, suggesting that Google may be rolling out restored notifications gradually or through a server-side switch.