YouTube is introducing a feature that enables users to hum or record a segment of a song in an attempt to identify it.
Google is currently in the process of testing a fresh feature on YouTube that allows users to hum or record a song for the purpose of searching for it.
For those included in this feature’s testing phase, it’s possible to hum or record a duration of three seconds or more from a song. Google will then attempt to recognize the song based on this input. After identifying the song, YouTube will present relevant information related to it. Essentially, this can be seen as Google’s version of Shazam, a service owned by Apple.
However, not everyone will have immediate access to this experimental feature. Google has indicated that it will be gradually introduced to a “limited portion of individuals worldwide who utilize YouTube on Android devices.”
This functionality isn’t entirely novel for Google, as it initially introduced a hum-to-search feature in the Google app and Google Assistant back in 2020. According to information from Google shared with TechCrunch, the YouTube iteration of this feature employs the same underlying technology.
However, the publication highlighted that the YouTube implementation performs more rapidly compared to its Google counterpart, which requires approximately 10 to 15 seconds to identify a song.
Google has revealed that it’s currently undergoing testing of a YouTube feature designed to group several uploads from a single creator into a dedicated “channel shelf” within your subscription feed.
This experimentation stems from several motivations: to enhance the accessibility of desired content for viewers, to alleviate the need for creators to publish multiple times daily, and to streamline viewer interaction with the content on the shelf and facilitate navigation to other content while scrolling through their feed. According to Google, this feature will initially be accessible to a select “minority” of users.
