Since I have a smartphone, I have developed an unhealthy obsession by discovering new music.
It started innocently enough, with recommendations about Amazon Music and YouTube that led to some memorable discoveries.
But more recently it got out of hand. Now, if I hear an interesting number that I am not familiar with, I’m just to have To know what it is.
Modern phones make this easier than ever: just download Shazam and tap the large button in the middle of the screen. You usually get the title and artist of the song within a few seconds.
However, this approach has two major mistakes.
The first is that it gets you from the moment. I can’t tell you how often I have kept my phone in the air as an idiot, desperately try to find out which number plays. It always works the first time, until everyone’s annoyance around me.
You can set it on ‘Auto Shazam’, but that requires your microphone permanently active, which is not exactly ideal.
I can’t tell you how often I have kept my phone in the air as an idiot, desperately try to find out which number plays
The other is that Shazam relies on an internet connection to work. That’s fine when I hear a cool number in an advertisement on TV, but during a party in a basement? You can forget it.
On paper, a function that is exclusive for Google Pixel telephones is the perfect solution. For the first time introduced in 2017, ‘Now Playing’ listens automatically for every song that plays and identifies it near your phone.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
What is more, it works entirely on devices, which means it will work, even if you are not connected. Audio is never sent to Google, so it is a much better option with regard to privacy.
You can see why I was so excited to try it out. When I rated my first Pixel telephone (the Pixel 8), it usually worked well. But after having used the Pixel 9 Pro XL for more than three months, the limitations of now play are brutally exposed.
The big problem? It really only works on two -thirds of that time. For every two songs that were seamlessly identified, there was another who was a total failure. I thought it was struggling with numbers that were released last month or so, which suggests that the offline database is outdated.
After using the Pixel 9 Pro XL for more than three months, the limitations of now play are brutally exposed
As you would expect, there is also a big difference in success rates when you have your phone on a table as opposed to in your pocket. It also struggles consistently if the sound is filled in whether there are competitive sounds.
As soon as it acknowledges that there is a number, Google lets you search manually from the lock screen. But the success rate does not seem to improve, and it is only a bit more convenient than opening the Shazam app, which I found much more reliable.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Unfortunately, today’s current iteration is anything but seamless. For the best chance to really find out what a number is, Open Shazam and pray that you have an internet connection.
I am not alone: the now playing function has been broken for a while.
However, there is hope on the horizon. As Ars Technica reports, Google has responded to users who complain that the function does not work and says that it is “marked as fixed” and that a solution “rolls out in a coming release”.
Exactly when that will be seen. But if it meant that playing finally fulfills his incredible potential, it will be a game change for me and other fanatics of music discovery.
In the meantime, Shazam is your best gamble. Or, I don’t know, you could live with the uncertainty not to know? Now there is a frightening concept.
