After years of good times and good tunes, Google Play Music is officially dead. YouTube Music is the new home for Google's streaming aspirations, but it still has a ways to go before reaching feature parity with the departed GPM. Thankfully, the YouTube Music experience on Android Auto is getting a few new upgrades that help to bridge the gap — including more functionality for free users.
It looks like the YouTube Music app on Android Auto can now play uploaded tracks whether you pay for a premium membership or not. Free users can browse their library of uploaded music and use Assistant voice commands to kick the tunes into gear. Previously, the entire app was basically inaccessible to people who didn't pony up for YouTube Music Premium, so this is a big improvement that makes the experience much better for migrating GPM users with large libraries of personal uploads.
The up next queue is rolling out in YouTube Music's Android Auto app.
The playback screen is also getting a big upgrade with the addition of a queue. Seeing what's coming next is a standard feature for a music app, so it's nice to see YouTube Music catch up in this regard.
Google may have taken a while to get the momentum going, but YouTube Music has rapidly picked up new functionality over the last few months. Free users gained the ability to download their own songs, the service got better on smart TVs, and Google (very politely) brought a watch app to its competitor's wearable platform first.