Google has confirmed it is working on an updated Play Music service that will start rolling out to the Android, iOS, and web versions this week.
The revamped Google Play Music will come with a new UI and features based on machine learning to provide a more personalised service.
Google announced the changes in a blog post, explaining how it has used “contextual tools that power Google products” to enable the new functionality.
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Using location, activity, and weather information, along with your personal listening habit data, the app will now provide you with personalised, hand-picked playlists to match your specific situation.
As Google puts it: “We’ll deliver personalized music based on where you are and why you are listening — relaxing at home, powering through at work, commuting, flying, exploring new cities, heading out on the town, and everything in between.”
The changes will mean context-specific music is provided at certain times, for example ‘workout music’ is surfaced on the home screen when you’re walking into the gym etc.
Alongside the new features, there will also be a new UI, with the home screen now capable of showing new releases you might be interested in, certain playlists you might like, or more music from one of your favourite artists.
The suggestions get better the more you use the app, thanks to Google’s “machine learning systems” and “team of expert music curators”.
And lastly, the app will now allow you to play music even when you’re without Wi-Fi or a data connection, by automatically downloading recently played tracks to an offline playlist.
The new Google Play Music will start rolling out globally to 62 countries this week, so keep an eye on your app update requests.
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Let us know what you think of the new service in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
