AppleInsider Staff
A report on Wednesday claims Apple is looking to incorporate a song identification feature into its upcoming iOS 8 operating system, possibly as part of Siri, and is working with Shazam to roll out the capability.
According to people familiar with Apple's plans, the next-generation iOS 8 will feature song identification capabilities that gather sound from an iPhone or iPad's microphone, sends it up to the cloud for processing and returns results to users, reports Bloomberg.
The company is said to be working in partnership with Shazam, which has for years marketed its own song identification app and technology in the App Store. Shazam's system works in much the same way as solution described by sources, suggesting Apple may simply pull data into a first-party app as it does with Weather and Stocks.
Specifically, sources say Siri might get song ID support with users asking the virtual assistant, "What song is playing?" From there, iOS can use the data in any number of ways, including opening Apple's own iTunes Radio or the Music app.
The addition of song identification would be a boon for iTunes Radio's digital track discovery, which in turn drives sales from the iTunes music store.
Shazam, which in March 2013 was estimated to be operating on 20 percent of iPhones, now boasts some 90 million users. Apple's iOS user base has been the source of major revenue in directing users to purchase music tracks, many from iTunes.
Apple is expected to preview iOS 8 at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference slated to begin on June 2. As always, AppleInsider will be covering the event first hand.
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86 Comments
I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends. PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.
[quote name="SolipsismX" url="/t/178539/apple-to-partner-with-shazam-for-song-recognition-in-ios-8-report-says#post_2518095"]I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends. PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.[/quote] Yes , I tried it the other day for the first time for ages and was impressed. A pairing with Siri makes a lot of sense.
Nice. I'm not mad on Shazam, but I would like this partnership.
Would Soundhound not be better as it does what Shazam does plus you can whistle or hum the song to find it too?
Oh god are you kidding?
I love Apple stuff as much as the next guy but Siri pretty much sucks at everything it does. It's slow as shit...by the time Siri was up and ready to go the song would be over with. Shazam works darn near instantly at identifying songs and would undoubtedly be faster than Siri. You should try out the app some more before suggesting use of voice controls.