Skip to main content

Google Play Music 7.4 brings smaller app size and musical alarms

Google Play Music icon
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
An updated version of Google Play Music has landed, bringing with it some very interesting and much-asked-for features. Like what? we hear you ask. Well, for starters, it looks like the music-streaming service is set to team up with Google’s Clock app to finally bring musical alarms — although its important to note that the feature hasn’t been added yet, just that code has been added to the app suggesting that may soon happen.

The updated version of the app also seems to be a fair bit smaller than the previous app — so it’ll take up a lot less space on your device, saving precious space for more downloaded music.

The new features were discovered in an Android Police app teardown, showing that the app has been slimmed down by 10 percent, which can be attributed to the loss of some images and layouts.

Another new addition is the new “Recents” menu item, which allows you to go back and look at things you’ve recently listened to. This doesn’t replace the “Recents” button on the app’s home screen — instead it just adds another way to access recently played music. When you press on the new menu item, you’ll also be presented with a new screen — although it’s not all that exciting, and just shows music that you’ve listened to in the recent past.

A few other design tweaks have also been added to the app’s interface — such as, for example, a new music visualizer that replaces the “Play” button on an album or track after it starts playing, making it more obvious that you’re listening to a particular track.

Last but not least is that the app startup screen now only shows the app icon, doing away with the words “Google Play.” As Android Police notes, this could signal Google relaxing a little on its branding — or it could simply have been done because it makes the splash screen look a little less cluttered.

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Google is bringing Chrome browser to cars, even more EV features to Maps
Android Auto interface showing EV charging times.

Google is bringing a great combination of features to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in, particularly for those who drive an EV.

Google Maps is adding more EV-centric features for those who use Android Auto from their connected phone. Starting with the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mach-E, you'll now see information on expected state of charge on arrival to your destination, as well as charging station locations and expected charging times for longer trips. This is a feature that's been available for EVs running Google built-in (aka Android Automotive), and in my experience, it's extremely helpful and helps alleviate charging anxiety. It's wonderful to see this brought to the much wider-reaching Android Auto version of Maps, and I hope it expands to more cars soon.

Read more
Google is paying a $700 million fine, and you’re getting some of it
Google Play Store on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

If you think your Tuesday is off to a rough start, at least you aren't Google. In the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday, December 19, Google confirmed that it's paying $700 million as part of a settlement regarding antitrust concerns around the Google Play Store.

In July 2021, over 30 states (plus Washington, D.C.) filed a lawsuit against Google over its business practices related to the Google Play Store on Android. Specifically, the lawsuit targeted fees Google charges developers to use the Play Store — and the alleged lack of competition the Play Store allows. Google settled the lawsuit this past September, and now Google has announced the details of that settlement.
Google's paying you $630 million ... kind of

Read more
Google just redesigned one of its biggest apps, and it’s bad
Google Chat app on the Play Store.

Google Chat — Google's business-oriented messaging platform that is similar to Slack and Microsoft Teams — just got a big update for its Android and iOS apps. The update dramatically changes how you navigate the app and, uh, well, it sure is something.

Google Chat's mobile app used to be broken up into two pages: Chat (direct messages between you and other users) and Spaces (larger chat rooms for multiple people). As with most apps, you switched between these with a navigation bar at the bottom of your screen.

Read more