Google's Now Playing feature is becoming a standalone app
Google is spinning off the Now Playing feature—yep, that handy tool on Pixel phones that tells you what song is playing nearby—into its own standalone app on the Play Store.
Until now, it lived inside Android System Intelligence alongside things like Live Caption.
The new app's interface hasn't been detailed; Now Playing currently uses an older two-tab History/Favorites layout.
Now Playing can be set as default music player
The list of apps that can be selected as the Default Music Player has been expanded to include Apple Music and Deezer.
Other big names like Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Tidal, and JioSaavn are expected to be added soon.
Google says making Now Playing a separate app could allow it to introduce more features.
How to get the new app
The standalone Now Playing app could launch with the March 2026 Pixel Feature Drop—just like Google did earlier with its Weather app.
Keep an eye out for a Play Store notification inviting you to download it!