Without having to download the app, here's how to use Shazam on your iPhone

Is there no app? It's no problem

In 2020, Apple launched iOS 14.2, which included several groundbreaking new emoji such as the "frustrated Italian hand gesture" and bubble tea. It also slipped in a useful feature: the option to add Shazam music recognition to your iPhone Control Center. The best part is that you don't need to download the Shazam app to utilize it. You can use this feature right from your lock screen by following a few simple steps.

When we first acquired our cellphones, Shazam was the song recognition app that made us all feel cool.

Suddenly, just by opening an app and waving your phone in the air, you could inform all of your pals what song was playing at the pub. Apple bought Shazam in 2018, making the app ad-free for everyone and eventually integrating its eerily good song-identification feature directly into iOS – you don't even need to download the app to use it.

In fact, you don't even need to unlock your phone to use Shazam, which comes in handy when you're trying to figure out what song is playing on the radio before it ends. It'll even work if you're listening to music through your headphones. If you're running iOS 14.2 or later, you may impress your friends by using Shazam from your lock screen by following these steps:

Ensure that Control Center is accessible from your lock screen:

• Go to the Face ID & Passcode section of the Settings menu (or Touch ID)
• Make sure Control Center is turned on and scroll down to "Allow access while locked."
• Then, in your Control Center, add Shazam:
• To access the Control Center, go to Settings > Control Center.

• To add Music Recognition to the "Included Controls" list above, scroll down to "More Controls" and press the green + icon next to it.
• Move it up or down the list to change its position in the Control Center (tap and hold the three bars to the right of the icon)

In the Control Center, you'll now see a Shazam icon. Slide down from the top of the screen on a phone with Face ID, or swipe up from the bottom on a phone with Touch ID, to get to it from your lock screen.

You can also use Shazam through Siri, which is useful if you don't have your hands free, but it will blow your cover if you're pretending to know what song is playing. If you wish to use Siri without unlocking your phone, follow the instructions above to make sure Siri is enabled on your lock screen. Otherwise, simply ask Siri, "Hey Siri, what song is playing?" or anything similar. You'll get a notification from Shazam after the music has been detected, and she'll react that she's listening.

When you download the Shazam app, you'll gain access to additional features such as an archive of the songs you've identified and the option to record audio while offline and have the app identify the song when you return online. If you don't want to add another app to your life, you can rest easy knowing that Shazam's best feature is available just within iOS.