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One of my favorite Google App features is now working on Chrome OS. “What’s playing” is a quick, simple way to recognize a song via the Google App search or by using OK, Google on Android devices.
You may be familiar with similar applications such as Sound Hound or Sound Search for Android. I use the “what’s playing” feature of the Google App frequently as music is life. Well, for me at least.
Last week I was testing out different apps on my Chromebook, as we do frequently in the Chrome Unboxed office. I downloaded the Google App on my Android-enabled device and after getting all of my settings in line I thought I’d ask Google what song was playing.
It didn’t work.
I wasn’t too shocked. Developers have been working day and night to optimize Android Apps on Chrome OS but this feature is likely not a top priority. The feature tried to work. I made it to the “listening” screen of the app but from there is just froze.
Oh well. Perhaps it was my internet connection or maybe my device just wasn’t ready to handle the function. I just chalked it up to something that might work, one day.
Earlier this week I powerwashed the Lenovo Flex 11 I am testing and in my haste forgot to enable the Play Store. Tonight as I was sitting in the recliner watching my neighbors fireworks, I decided to play some Clash of Clans and thought it would be fun to do so on the Lenovo.
As my apps began downloading I noticed the Google App in the list and thought “hey, let’s give this another try.” Lo and behold, as I cranked some tunes from my phone, my Chromebook began listening and in just a couple of short seconds this is what i saw. (great song by the way. check it out)
So, yeah. There you go. I know this isn’t a ground-breaking development but I was excited. If you have a Chromebook with access to Android Apps you can try it out by downloading the Google App from the Play Store. From there you can type “what’s playing” in the search bar or enable “OK, Google” and use the feature hands-free.
