Google’s “Now Playing” feature on its Pixel smartphones has stopped working as well as it used to. The ambient feature, which can recognize songs playing in the vicinity without needing an app or digital assistant, has become spotty. Despite recent updates, users are experiencing performance issues with the feature, including failing to recognize more songs and manual searches not working.
Debuting on Pixel 2, Now Playing uses a database to identify songs playing nearby without consuming much data or battery life. Over time, it has improved its capabilities, adding features like album artwork and a default music player shortcut. However, in recent months, the feature’s performance has deteriorated.
Users have taken to Google’s forums, Reddit, and Issue Tracker to report issues with Now Playing, which was acknowledged by Google during the Android 15 beta program but not fully resolved. The company has yet to provide any further updates on the issue. Some users have found success in clearing the cache or disabling and reenabling the feature, but results may vary.
The problem seems to be more than just a crashing issue; it’s about the feature not working at all. For example, during a movie, Now Playing only identified five out of 11 songs featured in the film. Manual searches are also failing, with popular songs sometimes not being recognized. The feature’s lock screen chip has become less frequent, requiring manual intervention to appear.
Google released an update in late January with “bug fixes and improvements,” but it appears this was limited to a new album art feature. With no direct evidence or answers from Google, users are left to figure out why the feature is not working as expected.
Source: https://9to5google.com/2025/02/17/google-pixel-users-report-now-playing-problems