One of the most recent changes that is taking place in the popular feature of the Google Pixel is the Now Playing feature. It has changed in an important way that is changing how users track and store the songs they find themselves.
The new display of song history is a more basic and more efficient one. This movement is indicative of a wider design principle change, but also begs the question of what lies ahead for curated, on-device discovery of music.
From Curation to Chronology
In the past, Pixel users were provided with a convenient in-built Favorites tab in the Now Playing history. The tab enabled them to save their favorite songs fast and conveniently by tapping on the heart icon at the end of the song title on the lock screen.
This was a personalized playlist of all the good music that they had discovered during the day, month, or year. It was an easy, but effective, way to have an ever-growing list of new finds that music lovers would like to have without having to manually launch another music streaming application.
This functionality has been done away with in the new update. Although it is a full chronology, this eliminates the option of having a separate, favorite list. This is a significant change in their workflow for people who were used to the one-tap curation process.
Suggestions and Workarounds
The interface has been simplified because the Favorites tab is no longer included. It also implies that users are now required to use a multi-step process in saving their favorite tracks. To save a song. This can be found in the Now Playing history. This creates tension in a process that was once smooth.
To the ardent music followers, this may be a retrogressive move. The immediacy of the addition of a new favorite song is lost, and something more calculated and less immediate.
Conclsuion
This update is an apparent trade-off. Google has made the Now Playing history easier to use, even though it has also eliminated a strong, in-built curation engine.
Although it does not affect casual users, users who have been using the Favorites tab will have to change their habits and make additional efforts to store the music they find.
The transition points to the fine line between the simplicity of the interface and the sophistication and on-device functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the reason why the Favorites tab was eliminated?
It is not mentioned exactly why, but seemingly. This is a change in design to make the history view of Now Playing simpler.
Does it change on every Pixel?
This rollout is coming with a new system update to the Pixel phones, and at some point. It is going to be available on all the compatible phones that have the latest version of Android.
Does it have any third-party applications that may mimic this functionality?
On the Google Play Store, some third-party apps and widgets provide similar functions of the identification of songs and history logging, some of which may have a favorites feature.
Does the history of the Now Playing have a limitation?
The history list is a running list of the songs that your phone recognizes, which can hold a thousand entries.
