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
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