Wondering what song is playing? Your Pixel phone can help.

Discover the music all around you with the new Now Playing app.
11 June 2026
Takeaways
  1. See what song is playing around you with the Now Playing app on your Google Pixel.
  2. Quickly identify a song with a simple tap, or let your phone automatically recognise background music.
  3. Revisit all your discoveries and favourites in one spot, then tap to listen in your preferred music app.
Whether you’re sipping a latte at a coffee shop or folding socks at the laundromat, your Google Pixel phone can name that song playing in the background.

All you need to do is download the Now Playing app. It can instantly help you discover new music, keep track of the music playing around you, and let you share tracks with friends.

Once you have the app, it will automatically save the songs playing in the background as you go about your day. So if you love the tune played at the restaurant you're eating at, you can find it on your Pixel – allowing you to easily find and listen to it later.

Here’s everything you need to know about Now Playing, so you’ll never have to ask, “what song is this?” again.

Identify new music.

Joe Woods, longtime Pixel user, loves discovering new music and has been using Now Playing on Pixel for years.

“I look at it to see what songs are playing when I’m making breakfast in the house, or at a store, or out for dinner at a restaurant,” he says. “I’ll often listen to DJ sets on YouTube and wonder what the song is, or what sample they’re mixing in.”

He also loves how simple Now Playing is to use. Here’s how it works on Pixel:
  1. Download the Now Playing app from the Google Play Store.
  2. Now Playing automatically identifies music playing around you, right from your lock screen.
  3. To manually identify a song, open the Now Playing app.
  4. Tap the icon to see what’s playing.
  5. Open and play the song on your preferred music apps.
“It’s mind blowing,” says Woods. “I have a list of all eight songs that played during my 30-minute commute this morning.”
“It’s mind blowing,” says Woods. “I have a list of all eight songs that played during my 30-minute commute this morning.”
Find out what song is playing.
Discover new music and artists with the Now Playing feature on Pixel phones.
Find out what song is playing.
Discover new music and artists with the Now Playing feature on Pixel phones.
Find the songs you heard recently.
Woods loves how Now Playing can take you back to moments in your life. That’s because once you turn on Now Playing, it stays on. So you can keep grooving on the dance floor as Pixel adds new songs to your history, curating the soundtrack to your life.
“There was a time I was out to dinner with my nine-year-old son and we were vibing out on a song,” Woods says. “He still asks me to play it. There are so many other songs I’ve discovered that way. I can just pull it up on my phone with the date, and now I remember the exact moment it happened, where I was, who I was with.”
Finding the tracks Now Playing has saved is easy, too. Just open the Now Playing app and check the history tab to revisit all your discoveries and favourites in one spot.
Create and share a playlist of your favourite songs.
Ben Madden, a self-described “music nerd” and HR consultant, says he finds himself using Now Playing all the time, whether he’s out to dinner or listening to the radio in his car.
“It’s great for obscure artists and world music … I may not normally find,” he says. “It’s definitely exposed me to a bunch of different stuff.”
He also loves how easy it is to hear a great song and then save it for later. “I can go back later and look them up, put them in my rotation,” he says.
To add a song to your favourites list, just tap the music note next to the song title on your lock screen.
Sharing a new track with a friend is simple, too. Whether you’re at brunch or the gym, just tap the song on your lock screen or favourites list. A shortcuts window will then appear, giving you the option to send it to someone else. You can also easily listen to them on your preferred music service. All the songs you discover are in one spot, so you just need to tap the track to open and play the song on music streaming apps.
Don't ask “what song is this?” again.
The next time you’re out at a restaurant or party with an amazing playlist, or just singing along to the radio in the shower, all you have to do is enjoy the music – Pixel will do the rest. The Now Playing app captures the songs on your phone, and they’ll be waiting whenever you’re ready to hear them again.

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