What you need to know
- Google is reportedly developing a new "Now Playing" button for Pixels in the quick settings menu.
- This button, when activated, will immediately initiate the Pixel's song identification function.
- Google was also spotted giving some users an early preview of its Material 3 Expressive redesign in Gmail.
A recent code discovery points toward a small, but potentially impactful, QoL update en route to Google's Pixels.
Found within the Android System Intelligence by tipster AssembleDebug and Android Authority, Google is reportedly working on a "manual" Now Playing button for its phones. It doesn't seem as though this "shortcut" will throw Pixel users into their Now Playing history. Instead, according to the tipster's findings, this button will reside in the Quick Settings pull-down menu.
After getting it to work, the tipster claims users will be able to tap this button to immediately begin their Pixel's song identification capabilities. When engaged, the shortcut assumes whatever color your Material You theme is to indicate its activation.
Moreover, the tipster noticed that Google is working on a persistent notification that says "Searching for song..."
Pixels & Android
There's still more to come with this feature, as the publication states the most important part (song discovery) wasn't working. At face value, it seems like this persistent notification will morph into the song's name alongside the artist and maybe its album title, too. It's still too early to tell, despite Google's development of the shortcut seemingly far in its process.
As previously stated, Pixel users currently have their Now Playing history to dive into if they have this feature active. If your device is listening for music, it will identify and list those songs on that page. Users can then "heart" their favorite songs or interact with them to receive a YouTube, YouTube Music, or Spotify link. If Google is working on a shortcut for this, one that you manually activate for quicker info, maybe these links will be more forward-facing/present to use.
Something that might impact more than just Pixel users is Google's apparent Material 3 Expressive redesign for Gmail. Some users have reportedly already noticed an entire rework of the layout. Emails will supposedly sit on a dedicated card for added depth. Additionally, the changes seem to facilitate room for more colors, delivering a Gmail UI that is a little more expressive, which is what Google wants.
During I/O 2025, the company discussed its biggest UI overhaul, Material 3 Expressive. The whole purpose of this new direction is to design a language that "feels good, makes sense, and helps you do things with ease." More than that, it seems like this will arrive for Android 16, and that's expected to happen in June.
