Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 14.2 with a new music recognition feature that makes identifying a song easier than ever. The new feature brings a music recognition button that lets you identify a song that is playing with a single tap.
The music recognition tool is powered by Shazam, which Apple acquired in a 2018 deal worth an estimated $400 million. This new feature works independent of Shazam and does not require the user to install the Shazam app or subscribe to any services. Instead of calling up Siri, users can open the Control Center shade and tap a button that’ll launch music recognition.
How to Set up Music Recognition
The Music Recognition control is opt-in, so you'll need to add it manually. Open the Settings app, tap 'Control Center,' then scroll to the More Controls section under the Included Controls. Find 'Music Recognition,' which will have a Shazam icon, then tap the green plus (+) button to move it to the list of included controls. Identify Music by Asking Siri. You can ask Siri to identify music playing anywhere in the room. This is possible to do with an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or even a HomePod. To use music recognition via Siri, follow these steps: Say “Hey, Siri.” Or hold the Side or Home button on your iPhone until the Siri bubble appears onscreen. Midomi.com find and discover music and people. Use your voice to instantly connect to your favorite music, and to a community of people that share your musical interests. Sing your own versions, listen to voices, see pictures, rate singers, send messages, buy music.
Before you can use the music recognition, you need to install iOS 14.2 or newer. To find out if you are running the latest iOS software, you need to open the Settings app and then select General > Software update. iOS will let you know if your software is current or if it needs to be updated.
Once the iOS 14.2 (or newer) update is installed, you can add the Control Center’s music recognition button as follows:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and select Control Center.
- Scroll until you see More.
- Tap the green + button next to Music Recognition to add it to your Control Center.
Using Music Recognition
If you have an iPhone with Face ID, you can pull down the Control Center shade by swiping down from the top right-hand corner of your display.
If you have a phone with Touch ID, you can swipe up from the display’s bottom to open Control Center.
The music recognition button is the one with the Shazam icon (S). Simply tap the button, and iOS will automatically launch music recognition. It works with music playing around you and even music playing through your headphones.
iOS 14.2 makes it possible
What do you do when you hear a song playing around you and want to identify it? Well, we have been either summoning Siri on our iPhones or Apple Watch, asking her to recognize the song, or have been launching the Shazam app for the same purpose. Both options come in handy most of the time but take their own sweet time. Waking up Siri does take a few seconds and fishing out Shazam from the list of apps can also waste a few moments. These few moments are often key when you are out hearing and trying to identify a random song. Also, speaking to your phone (rather than on it) in public can get you some weird glances.
Well, all of this can now be avoided. You can figure out what song is playing around you with just a single tap on your iPhone.
Yep, that simple. The iOS 14.2 update has introduced a feature that will allow you to tap and recognize the songs playing around you. The feature called, “Music Recognition” is basically Shazam in your Control Centre. For those who might have forgotten, Apple bought Shazam back in 2018 for $400 million and after integrating it with Siri, the brand is further weaving the music recognition software into its OS. But instead of calling it Shazam, Apple has added it as Music Recognition with a Shazam logo. And it puts song recognition a tap away on your iPhone.
Here is how you can get the feature on your iPhone!
Update! Update! Update!
First things first, your iPhone must be running on iOS 14.2 or above in order to get this feature working on your device. If you have not updated your iPhone, you can easily do so by going to Settings. Pick out “General” and then tap on “Software Update”. From here you can update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS available in your region.
Dive into Control Center
Music Recognition Iphone Not Working
Once your iPhone is updated, you again need to go swimming in the Settings but this time you have to select a fish swimming a little deeper than General and select the “Control Centre” option. It is right below General.
Time to recognize Musical Recognition
After getting into the Control Centre find the feature called “Music Recognition”. You would have to scroll down all the way to the bottom of the page to find it but it will surely be there. The feature will have the iconic blue Shazam icon.
Add Musical Recognition Control to your Centre
Now all you have to do is tap on the tiny green “+” icon right next to it and the feature will be added to the Control Centre on your iPhone. It will now have a “-“ icon next to it – this we will ignore!
Shazam Music Identifier
Identify songs with a tap:
Next time you hear a song around that you want to identify, do not summon Siri or launch Shazam. Simply swipe down (or up, based on what iPhone you are using) to access your Control Centre, tap on the Shazam icon which is now called Music Recognition. And let it do the job for you. It will identify the song and show it as a notification, tapping on which will open the song in Shazam.
Music Recognition Iphone History
Easy Peasy Apple Squeezy!
Music Recognition On Iphone 12
(Note: No Apples were harmed in the making of this article.)