You can listen to music, news, podcasts, and radio on your Pixel Tablet with a variety of apps and services available in the Google Play Store . You can also link apps and services to Google Assistant and control playback with on-screen controls or voice commands, even when your tablet is locked and docked.
How to listen to media on your Pixel Tablet
You can listen to music, news, podcasts, and radio by installing your favorite apps or using Google Assistant.
Install your favorite apps to listen to media
You can download apps from the Google Play Store to play media from your favorite streaming apps and services. Install an app, sign in or create an account, and play media using the app's controls.
Use Google Assistant to listen to media
Some streaming apps and services are compatible with Google Assistant, so you can use "Hey Google" to play media on them in Hub Mode. Find a list of compatible apps here.
Tip: You need to link your media services in your Assistant settings to use this feature.
Let anyone in your home use Assistant to play movies, music, and more
You can turn on the ability for anyone in your home to talk to Google Assistant. You can also turn on a setting that lets them speak to Assistant to play music, movies, and more:
- Open your device's Settings app
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- Tap Hub Mode
Assistant.
- Turn on Use Assistant to play music, movies, and more when your tablet is locked.
- To turn off this setting, tap it again.
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Assistant.How to control media playback on your Pixel Tablet
When you play media on your Pixel Tablet, you can control media playback on your touchscreen, with Assistant voice commands, or with the Google Home app.
Control media by touch
When media is playing in Hub Mode, you can control playback on your lock and Home screens by touch. A media widget will automatically appear with buttons to control what you hear.
Some media apps have widgets you can add to your Home screen for easy touch control. Place the widget on your Home screen, then tap the widget to control the volume, pause playback, skip or change songs or podcasts, change the radio station, and more.
Control media with Assistant voice commands
Once you link your streaming services to Google Assistant, you can use voice commands to control media on your Pixel Tablet.
Listen to music from popular music services by artist, song, genre, album, playlist, mood, or activity.
| To do this: | Say "Hey Google," then: |
|---|---|
| Play a song or artist |
"Play [song name]" "Play [song name] by [artist name]" "Play [song name] from [album name]" "Play [song name or artist name] on [music service]" "Play songs like [song name or artist name]" |
| Control the volume |
"Set volume to 5" "Set volume to 40%" "Turn it up" "Turn it down" |
| Play the next song |
"Next" "Skip" "Next song" |
| Pause the music |
"Pause" "Pause the music" |
| Resume |
"Resume" "Continue playing" |
| Stop |
"Stop" "Stop the music" |
| Play music based on genre, mood, or activity |
"Play classical music" "Play happy music" "Play music for cooking" "Play [genre] on [music service]" |
| Find out what's playing |
"What's playing?" "What song is playing?" "What artist is playing?" Tip: Turn on the "Now Playing" Feature in your Hub Mode settings to let your tablet recognize songs that play in the background. |
| Learn more commands | Use Google Assistant to listen to music |
Play news, podcasts and shows or get top news headlines for sports, weather, business, technology, or a custom topic you specify. If you subscribe to a news or podcast service, you can set it as your default so that Assistant plays it when you speak a voice command.
| To do this: | Say "Hey Google," then: |
|---|---|
|
Listen to the news |
"Listen to the news" or "Tell me the news" "Listen to [news source name]" "What's the latest in technology? |
|
Play a podcast |
"Listen to [podcast name]" or "Play [podcast name]" "Listen to the latest episode of [podcast name] "Listen to a comedy podcast" "Find me a podcast about cooking" |
|
Pause or stop |
"Pause" "Stop" "Stop the [news or podcast]" |
|
Resume play |
"Resume" "Continue playing [news or podcast]" |
|
Skip or play next |
"Skip" "Next" "Play next" |
|
Previous |
"Previous" "Play previous" |
|
Learn more voice commands |
Listen to thousands of terrestrial, internet, and satellite radio stations. Start by asking for a station like "play KISS FM." If you subscribe to a subscription radio service, you can set it as your default so Assistant plays it when you say a voice command.
| To do this: | Say "Hey Google," then: |
|---|---|
|
Play a station |
"Play ESPN Radio" "Play Mega 97.9 FM" "Play Mega 97.9 on iHeartRadio" |
|
Play a frequency |
"Play 98.5" |
|
Play a call sign |
"Play KQED" "Play KFOG" |
|
Play radio from a location |
"Play Z100 in New York" |
|
Play a nearby NPR station |
"Play NPR" |
|
Find information about what's playing |
"What's playing?" |
|
Control playback |
"Pause" or "Stop" "Resume" or "Continue playing" |
|
Learn more voice commands |
Control media with the Google Home app
When you play media on your Pixel Tablet, you can open the Google Home app 
- Make sure your mobile device or tablet is linked to the same account as your Pixel Tablet.
- On your phone or tablet, open the Google Home app
.
- Tap the current media session for:
- Playback controls
- Volume control
- Playback device control