Now Playing Notifications Return to Pixel Devices After Months-Long Absence

Google has started rolling out Now Playing notifications on Pixel devices again after removing them earlier this year. The feature was part of the March Pixel Drop, which shifted it into a standalone app and disrupted third-party tools that relied on notifications to send listening data.

Now Playing still recognizes music around you and places the answer on the lock screen, but users are once again seeing recognized songs appear in the notification shade. The restored notification shows the song title and artist, with shortcuts to favorite songs or Now Playing history available when tapping the drop-down arrow.

The return of notifications is a gradual process, with availability remaining limited at this time. Google may be rolling out the feature through a server-side switch or as part of an update to the Android System Intelligence app.