Gemini's new trick on Android saves you from guessing or Googling lyrics

What you need to know

• Android users can now use Gemini to ID songs by playing, singing, or even humming.
• However, instead of giving answers in-chat, Gemini kicks you to a Google Search page, breaking the flow.
• Additionally, iOS users are left hanging, but a wider rollout is probably in the works.

Google has been tuning up Gemini on Android, and now it can finally name that mystery song for you—a long-requested feature that makes it way more useful on the daily.

When Gemini first rolled out, it left out some fan-favorite features from Google Assistant, like figuring out what song was playing. Ask it back then, and it would just point you to another app.

But according to 9to5Google, that’s changed. Over the past few weeks, Gemini quietly picked up built-in song search, finally closing a major gap with its predecessor and making it feel more like a fully-loaded assistant for Android users.

Just ask and play

To try out Gemini’s new song ID skill, just say, “What song is this?” It’ll then launch a full-screen mode and ask you to play, sing, or hum the tune. While it listens, you’ll see that signature pulsing sphere in action as it hunts down the closest match using Google’s smarts.

Gemini’s music-matching skills work across the board, meaning it can catch songs playing nearby, in your playlists, or even ones you hum.

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Still a bit clunky

While Gemini on Android can now ID songs, it’s not fully baked into the Gemini experience just yet. When you ask it to name a tune, it actually hands things off to the Google app’s full-screen listening mode.

It works, but it’s not as smooth or seamless as something like Pixel’s built-in Now Playing feature, which still takes the lead when it comes to smooth song ID. You can trigger it with a quick voice command or tap the lock screen shortcut, and it delivers results right in the interface. Plus, it works offline, which is a major win.

Another thing that sets Gemini’s song ID apart from a fully integrated setup is that it shows the results on a Google Search page instead of keeping it in the chat. So instead of a smooth, in-line answer like you’d get from Google Assistant, you’re bumped out of the conversation flow, making the experience feel a bit disjointed.

Currently, Song Search is only live in Gemini on Android. Google hasn’t officially said when (or if) it’s coming to iOS, but chances are it’s just a phased rollout.