Google Music Update Adds Syncing for Liked Songs

How it worked before

To keep music offline, you turned on all music in the app by unchecking the on-device-only box. Then you chose Menu and Choose music for device, which let you save albums, artists or playlists. A single song could stay in the cache after playing, but that was only a short-term fix.

That was awkward when you only liked one track from an artist. Your options were one album, the artist’s entire catalogue or building a playlist in the cloud for each case, which felt like making mix tapes again. Some media players let you mark favourites and sync that list, and Google Music had a thumbs-up tab but could not sync it.

What the update added

• You can sync liked music to the device.
• It is easier to see whether you are looking at on-device or cloud music.
• Instant mixes appear in the recent tab.

Why it helps

Now you can listen on the web app, press like on anything you want on the phone, and sync it. Other playlists still work. The author had sent in feedback several times asking for this and was pleased to see it. Plan ahead, since syncing over mobile data can use up a plan.

Availability in Canada

The app was no longer geo-restricted to the US, and the author hoped the full service would legitimately reach Canada soon.