Now Playing has never been the most talked-about Pixel exclusive, but it’s been making headlines lately. Last month, Google gave it a major upgrade by spinning it off into a standalone app — a move that had been telegraphed by leaks well before the official announcement.
The app hasn’t stood still since launch. Shortly after release, it received a visual refresh on the lock screen, and now a fresh update has appeared on the Play Store. While it seems minor on the surface, it may be quietly bringing back something users didn’t realize they’d miss.
A small update with potentially big implications
According to 9to5Google, the Now Playing app was updated to version 2026.03.24.x late Friday, bumping out the previous 2026.03.02.x build. The rollout appears to be gradual — the Play Store still shows the older version as the latest for many users, and the update hadn’t reached all devices as of the report.
No obvious new features were found in the update, pointing to mostly behind-the-scenes bug fixes. But a Reddit user claims something notable did return: the “Tap to see what’s playing” prompt on the lock screen.
The return of ‘Tap to see what’s playing’
When Now Playing transitioned to a standalone app, most of its functionality came along for the ride — but not everything. One casualty was the “Tap to see what’s playing” prompt, a small but beloved lock screen feature that used to sit just below the fingerprint scanner. For many users, it was a core part of the
Now Playing experience.
According to the Reddit user, after receiving a notification about Now Playing’s new home, the lock screen feature reappeared. Whether this is directly tied to the v2026.03.24.x update isn’t confirmed, though the timing lines up.
It’s also worth noting another change that came with the app transition: Now Playing no longer sends quiet background notifications when it identifies a track. That functionality has been replaced by a Quick Settings tile, which can show the song title and artist — but only when expanded to the larger 2×1 size.
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Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
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