Apple's Shazam can now identify songs playing inside other iPhone and iPad apps even while you're wearing headphones

Shazam 20 years logo
(Image credit: Apple)

Shazam has long been the go-to app for people who want to know what song they're listening to but now it's better than ever thanks to a new version 17.3 update.

The new update, which is now available for download via the App Store, adds support for identifying songs from other apps while you're listening via headphones for the very first time.

The new feature comes after Shazam was already able to identify songs from within other apps, but it was previously only able to do so while there were no headphones connected, limiting the usability somewhat. With Shazam 17.3, that has now changed.

Music to your ears

The new update, which can be downloaded for free now, works with both wired and Bluetooth headphones and earbuds which means AirPods, AirPods Max, and third-party options are all good to go. The lack of a requirement for Apple accessories is something that is definitely worth noting here.

"You can now identify music while wearing headphones (wired or Bluetooth)," the app's release notes explain. "Simply open the app, check for the headphone icon to confirm your headphones are connected, and then start recognizing music around you or within apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube."

Apple bought Shazam back in 2017 and has been steadily integrating it with iOS and its other software for years. The app offers multiple widgets for quick music identification and more, but the ability to identify music from within another app is a huge boon for people who hear a song in an ad or video and want to be able to find out what it was.

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Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.