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Android Authority
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
My favorite Google Pixel features that don't get enough love
Google Pixel phones are packed with intelligent and helpful features. While Google ensures many of these are front and center by promoting them when you first set up the phone or by periodically reminding you about them when you perform certain tasks, a surprising number of equally brilliant features fly under the radar. These hidden gems can significantly improve your daily experience with your phone. It's a shame that a ton of users simply don't know about them. With that in mind, this is a list of some of my favorite Pixel-exclusive features that, for whatever reason, don't seem to get the attention they deserve. You might be a power user who knows about all of these, but it's likely there will be at least a few readers who will walk away learning something new about the small computer in their pocket. Now Playing has a semi-hidden history Ryan Haines / Android Authority Most Pixel owners are familiar with Now Playing, considering it is one of the features Pixel UI asks you about when you first set up a Pixel. Now Playing identifies songs playing in your environment without you needing to do a thing to trigger it — the information appears on your lock screen automatically. Think of it as an always-on Shazam. What Google doesn't make immediately obvious, however, is that your phone keeps a running list of every song it ever identifies. Now Playing lets you see the music playing around you, but there's a running list of all the songs your phone has ever logged, too. This history can be incredibly handy, but accessing it is a bit convoluted. You can tap the music note on your lock screen when a song is actively playing, but that's not much help when you're trying to recall a track from last night's party while sitting on your couch slightly hungover. To find your full song history, you need to navigate to Settings > Display & touch > Lock screen > Now Playing, and then tap on Now Playing History. Thankfully, you only need to do this once. From the history screen, tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right and select Add to Home Screen. This creates a shortcut icon on your home screen, giving you instant access to your musical memories whenever you want. Quick Tap: A shortcut on the back of your phone C. Scott Brown / Android Authority While Now Playing is an opt-in feature made apparent the first day you use your Pixel, Quick Tap is one you need to discover for yourself. This feature triggers a specific action instantly whenever you double-tap the back of your phone. To enable it, go to Settings > System > Gestures > Quick Tap to start actions. Here, you can assign the double-tap gesture to a variety of tasks. You can use it to take a screenshot, access Gemini, play or pause media, or even open a specific app. I personally have it set to toggle the flashlight, as it's incredibly convenient and works even when the phone is locked. I prefer to use Quick Tap to launch the flashlight, but there are a bunch of other things you can have it do. Be aware that some actions, like launching an app, will require you to unlock your phone first, which can defeat the 'quick' aspect of the feature. Also, if you find yourself accidentally triggering the gesture fairly often, you can enable the Require stronger taps option on the Quick Tap settings page, which should help reduce that issue. Automate your settings with Rules C. Scott Brown / Android Authority If you want your phone to change settings automatically based on your context, Pixels have a built-in system called Rules. While it isn't as feature-rich as some competitor offerings, like Samsung's Routines, it's still quite useful once configured. On your Pixel, you can find it under Settings > System > Rules. You'll need to enable background services for it to work, so be sure to hit the Next button the first time you visit this page. Pixel's Rules allow you to automatically switch audio states depending on where you are. Once you've given it all the necessary permissions, you can create rules that trigger changes to your phone's audio state based on your geographical location or a specific Wi-Fi network. For instance, you can set your phone to automatically switch to Do Not Disturb when you're at the movie theater and then revert to your normal ringer profile when you connect to your home Wi-Fi. It's a simple but effective way to automate your daily routines. Again, I really wish Google made this more powerful like Samsung has with Routines, but it's a gem of a feature taken for what it is. Get better selfies with gestures and illumination Ryan Haines / Android Authority The Pixel camera has a few tricks up its sleeve that go well beyond just taking good photos. Did you know you can switch between the rear and front-facing cameras with a simple shake? When the camera app is open, two quick twists of your wrist will flip to the selfie camera, and two more will flip it back. If this isn't working, check that it's enabled under Settings > System > Gestures > Flip camera for selfie. There's a helpful GIF on that page that can help you master the wrist-flicking gesture. Selfie fiends will love the wrist-flicking gesture and the cheat code for getting better lighting. This gesture combines powerfully with another shortcut that most people already know about: double-tapping the power button to launch the camera. With these two features combined, you can go from your phone being in your pocket to being ready for a selfie in seconds (take phone out of pocket, double tap power button, flick wrists). Once you've framed your shot, you can even use the volume keys to capture the photo, meaning you can go from your phone being in your pocket to snapping a selfie all with using only one hand and without ever needing to touch your display. Neat! I also have a bonus selfie tip. Another underappreciated tool is Selfie Illumination, which you can find under the More light setting in the camera app. The setting for this is fairly apparent (open the camera app, swap to selfie mode, and tap the gear icon on the left), but Google does a poor job explaining what it is. Contrary to what some might think, it isn't just an AI-powered brightening filter. When enabled, your phone's screen will turn bright white for a moment right before capturing a selfie, acting as a makeshift front-facing flash to illuminate your face. This can dramatically improve the lighting of your self-portraits in dim environments. You'll only need to enable this in the camera's selfie mode settings once for it to stay active permanently whenever you take a selfie. However, it will reset when you restart your phone. Face-aware Auto-Rotate C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Everyone has experienced the annoyance of lying in bed and having your phone's screen rotate to landscape when you don't want it to. Pixels have a clever solution to this problem. If you long-press the Auto-Rotate tile in your Quick Settings, you'll find an option to enable face detection. With this active, your phone will use the front-facing camera to see the orientation of your face. If it detects that you're lying down, it will keep the screen in portrait mode even if the phone itself is horizontal. Hate when your head hits a pillow and your phone goes into landscape mode? This is for you. This is a small touch that removes a common frustration. It also prevents you from needing to even have the Auto-Rotate Quick Tile active since it should be smart enough to know when you really want the phone to be in landscape or portrait mode. That makes room for a different tile to be there, which is nice. Select text and images right from your recent apps C. Scott Brown / Android Authority The Recents screen (or Overview screen, Google can't make up its mind what to call this area of Android) is accessible by swiping up from the bottom of your display and holding. On Pixels, this area has a powerful tool. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a Select button. Tapping this allows you to highlight and copy text from any of the apps currently displayed in the carousel, without needing to open them individually. You can also share the selected text or start a Google search directly from the tiny menu that pops up whenever any text is selected. Stop taking screenshots of apps and then editing the screenshot before sharing. Use the Select tool! This feature is even more useful for images. Let's say you want to share an image on your phone but don't want to share your whole screen. Instead of taking a screenshot, cropping it, and then sharing, you can simply tap on an image directly from the Recents screen. This allows you to share or save just that specific image, or use Google Lens to search with it. It's a much faster and more efficient way of doing things. Don't ignore the Pixel Tips app! Robert Triggs / Android Authority It's easy to dismiss the Pixel Tips app as just another piece of pre-installed software, the digital equivalent of a car's user manual. But you really should open it and explore. The app is a treasure trove of information, detailing many of the cool things your phone can do that you might not be aware of. If I had a nickel for every Pixel user who's never touched the Pixel Tips app, I wouldn't need to work anymore. The Pixel Tips app is also the best place to find out what new features have arrived with the latest quarterly Pixel Drop. Google makes headlines by announcing a batch of new features for Pixels every quarter, but the rollout can be staggered, and some features are exclusive to certain Pixel models. The Tips app cuts through the confusion by showing you exactly which new features are active and available on your specific device. I now make it a point to check the app every few months to see what's new. Those are my favorite underappreciated Pixel features. Did I miss any? What's your favorite? Let me know in the comments below. Follow
Phone Arena
3 days ago
- Phone Arena
Google may be giving this underrated Pixel feature its own app
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 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 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 This is the same screen users can already reach through a home screen widget or the settings menu, so there is no new functionality being added just yet. However, adding an app drawer shortcut could help more people discover and use the feature. It's also worth noting that other updates may be on the way. Google appears to be experimenting with new quick settings shortcuts and lock screen integration for Now Playing, along with the ability to show album art for recognized songs. 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 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.
Android Authority
4 days ago
- Android Authority
Your next Pixel update could make it easier to check your Now Playing history (APK teardown)
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Google has been testing several changes to the Pixel's Now Playing feature. With the latest Android Canary build, we managed to activate a dedicated app drawer icon for the Now Playing feature. The app icon takes users to the Now Playing history page within the Android System Intelligence app. We've recently spotted Google working on several changes related to the Now Playing functionality available on Pixel devices. Users will soon be able to add a Now Playing shortcut to the Quick Settings panel as well as to the lock screen. Google is also thinking about an interface where Now Playing would display album art right on the lock screen. There's certainly plenty cooking for this feature, and Google seems to be all set to promote Now Playing with its own app drawer icon in the future. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. The latest Android Canary build has added a 'Now Playing' icon in the app drawer. This icon is disabled by default, but we managed to activate it. What secrets does the app icon hold? Not much at this stage. Tapping on the icon takes you to the Now Playing history page, which is part of the Android System Intelligence app. You could access this page through a widget shortcut, so it's not a new access area. So why is Google planning to promote Now Playing to its own app icon? The company hasn't officially announced the change or its rationale, but we speculate that it could be to bring more eyeballs to the functionality. Even though Pixel users are pretty savvy, many wouldn't know about the Now Playing feature. If they did, they wouldn't know they could access the history of songs recognized through the feature. While the widget shortcut already exists for the home screen, it's a fair bit hidden, and some users may never come across it. Giving the functionality its own app icon in the app drawer indicates greater confidence in the app's ability, enough to start drawing more users to explore the feature. If you're hoping that this is an early sign for the feature to expand beyond Pixels, don't hold your breath. There is no indication that Google plans to expand the Now Playing feature to non-Pixels. We'll keep you updated if we find Google making more changes to the Now Playing functionality.
Phone Arena
12-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Google tests improvement for popular Pixel lock screen feature
If one single feature explains why Pixel fans love their phones, it is probably the Now Playing feature, which appears in the lock screen and the Always-On Display on Pixel devices. Now Playing will automatically name the tune playing near the phone, and it also includes the name of the artist. If you buy a new Pixel, you'll need to turn it on by going to Settings > Sound & vibration > Now Playing > Toggle on "Identify songs playing nearby ." Now Playing uses a song database stored on Pixel handsets. Google says that no audio or background conversations are sent to the company. In addition, the music-recognition feature employs privacy-preserving analytics to preserve the privacy of users. Having owned both Pixel handsets, other Android phones, and iPhones, I can tell you that Now Playing works better than the Shazam app. What I love about the Pixel line is that it feels as though Google is always looking to improve the UX (User experience). Constantly updating apps to make them easier to use is one example of this, and the Now Playing feature is another. How many times have you heard a song and couldn't remember the title or the name of the artist who performed it? Or perhaps you're hearing a song for the first time, love it, and want to know more about the tune so you can hear it again? I guess if I had to pick one word for what Google offers to users with the Pixel line, it would be convenience . The update for Now Playing will allow a Pixel user to see album art in a search bar. | Image credit-Android Authority Tapping on the name of the song listed by Now Playing takes you to your Now Playing history page, which lists the songs that the feature has recently heard in the background. But tapping on the song in Now Playing could soon show you something else. Android Authority recently checked out an Android System Intelligence update and found that tapping the song in Now Playing, instead of taking you to your Now Playing history, brings up a bar with the song title and artist name in the middle and the album art on the left. Current look of Now Playing on the left with Now Playing history on the right. | Image credit-PhoneArena You can visit your favorites list with a tap on the right side of the bar and easily add or delete a song from that list with a single tap. And you can still get to your Now Playing history with a double tap. This is something that Google is working on, although there is no estimate when it might appear on your Pixel device. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Android Authority
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
Google is working to bring album art to Now Playing on your Pixel's lock screen (APK teardown)
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Now Playing detects songs your phone hears in its vicinity and can identify them on your lock screen. Tapping on the detected song name currently takes you to your Now Playing history. Google is working on a new interface where that tap would instead display album art on the lock screen. Sometimes, when it rains, it pours. As we analyze Android app updates for evidence of in-development changes, it can really feel like it's dealer's (or should we say, developer's) choice, and it can be weeks or months before we find ourselves revisiting a specific feature. But this week we're retuning to one topic just a single day after we last checked in, as we look into what Google's working on for its Now Playing song-ID tool. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. Last time around, we had just installed the new Android Canary release and saw Google adding a Now Playing option for our screen-corner lock screen shortcuts. That sounds well and good, but we also really like the way Now Playing works automatically on our lock screens, just displaying the song it's hearing without any extra interaction needed on our part. Right now, Now Playing on the lock screen is basically all text, just showing you the song and artist it's detected. From there you're welcome to tap through to your Now Playing history, where you get a richer experience with album art and links to YouTube and YouTube Music. Looking into a recent Android System Intelligence update, however, we've been able to get an early preview of some new behavior from this feature. Instead of jumping right into your history upon tapping, Google is thinking about an interface where Now Playing would start with its familiar text display, but then tapping it would expand that to offer a bar with album art. We also get quick access to the favorite button over on the right, and can add or remove tracks from that list with a tap. And if you do need to access your full history, you can get there with a double tap. Frankly, we wish Google would think about removing that first step and make this new look the default for Now Playing on the lock screen, instead of needing us to tap for the art. But who knows? Right now this is still very much in active development, and we just might get an option like that by the time Google's ready to formally introduce it. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
