A YouTube experiment last August saw select users being able toidentify a song by humming. The feature was widely rolled out to the YouTube app forAndroid phonesin October, and it now looks like the YouTube Music app is also on the verge of getting this handy song identification feature.
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At least one user onReddit(via9to5Google) appears to have this feature enabled, albeit on the YouTube Music app for iOS. The corresponding screenshot shows how this new song search feature will have its own button next to the search bar and the microphone icon in the YouTube Music app.
The icon that enables the new song identification feature on iOS
Unfortunately, this new song search functionality doesn’t appear to be widely available. I didn’t have any luck finding this feature on either an iPhone or a Pixel smartphone, and the folks at 9to5Google were also unable to spot it on their devices. Nevertheless, its appearance on the iOS version of YouTube Music is a strong indicator that song identification is on its way to YouTube Music.
The ability to search for a song by humming its tune isn’t new, with Google Search getting a similar featureback in October 2020. Meanwhile, Pixel phones have supported background song identificationwith Now Playingsince 2017, although it doesn’t support humming.
Identifying songs by humming on YouTube for Android
Songs can already be identified via humming on the YouTube app, although it’s currently limited to Android devices. The feature can be activated by tapping the search button on the top right of the YouTube app’sHometab, followed by the microphone button. This opens theVoicetab for basic voice search, while theSongtab lets you hum a tune or have the app do a Shazam-style song identification.
Having personally tried this on numerous occasions on the YouTube app for Android, it works surprisingly well, save for some occasional errors. With the feature being a part of the YouTube Android app for several months now, it’s quite surprising that YouTube Music hasn’t widely received it yet. But with at least some users on iOS getting it now, the broader rollout should begin in the coming weeks.
