Have Shazam listen for a song straight from the Google app with new 3rd party app integration

Google is looking to super charge the voice command functionality on your Android device by integrating 3rd party apps with the usual “Ok Google” commands. Announced today on Google+, you can now launch applications with nothing else but your voice using the Google Search app.

Right now only a few select apps are available in Search, but many more are on the way. You can get started with Shazam by simply saying “Ok Google, Shazam this song,” to have it search for a song immediately. So it’s not so much just launching an app, but having it open and performing an action as well. For instance, speaking the command “Ok Google, open TuneIn in car mode,” will do just that. Pretty convenient if your hands are tied or your phone is just out of reach.

Google says you’ll need to have the latest version of the Google app — as well as the most up-to-date versions of these 3rd party apps installed on your device — to make sure everything is working properly. For a small list of some of the 88+ things you can do by voice with the Google app, check out their landing page here.

How to listen to Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio station on Android

So, Apple Music is out as of yesterday. Whether it’s better than Google’s homegrown option Google Play Music All Access or fan favorites like Spotify is still to be determined. But it’s here, and if you’re curious about it you’ll soon be able to jump into it for yourself on Android.

Why not get an early taste today, though? It’s possible to experience at least one facet of Apple’s new service on Android, that being the Beats 1 radio station that features a never-ending broadcast of music — new and old — hosted by famous DJs such as Zane Lowe and even artists like Drake and Pharrell.

So how do you jump in? Simple: click this link, press play and enjoy. This was made possible thanks to Beats 1’s standard live stream URL being discovered by this crafty Twitter user. This certainly wasn’t Apple’s intended way of getting you to listen to their broadcasts, so don’t be surprised if this hole ever gets closed. In any case, we should have more official ways of gaining access to Apple’s music service as we inch closer to its Fall 2015 release.