YouTube Music may have been ill-received following the poor Google Play Music transition, but it’s shaping up to be a competitive entry to the music streaming market that you can get a lot out of. The service is constantly adding new features, revised designs, and more music, and now, YouTube Music has been spotted working on putting automated recommendations even more front-and-center than before, with some music suggestions appearing right in the media player area in the notification shade and on the lock screen.
9to5Google spotted that the music recommendations are starting to surface for people on Android 12. They presumably only show up when connecting to audio devices with Bluetooth or the USB-C port, suggesting some playlists for you to dive right into. The card makes it clear that the content is coming from YouTube Music, with a “YT Music” label and the app’s logo appearing in the left and three recommendations visible in the right. When expanding the card by pulling down the notification shade all the way, you can see six shortcuts to playlists. Tapping one of the recommendations instantly makes it play, without you ever being thrown into the app.
The recommendations appear in this place as part of an Android 12 feature that next to no other media app has taken advantage of yet, called “show media recommendations,” which is supposed to do just that — show you media recommendations based on your activity. If these bother you, you can deactivate them globally in system settings under Sound & vibration → Media → Show media recommendations.
Additionally, YouTube Music has started rolling out its personalized “Recommended radios” much more widely. The playlists first started rolling out in February for some and have only now made their way on many more phones. The radio stations are based on your recent sessions and either contain music from your favorite artists or more general topics, like 2010 pop hits or a Heavy Metal radio — all depending on what you listen to the most.