Shazam
by Apple · Music & Audio · Podcasts
Music identification app that recognizes songs playing around you.
Quick Answer: Shazam has a verified Real Score of 4.4/5 based on 92,000 verified reviews, compared to its App Store rating of 4.8/5. Highly recommended by verified users.
Real Score vs App Store Rating
App Store Rating
Includes unverified reviews
Verified Real Score
Based on 92,000 verified reviews
Gap Alert: Shazam's App Store rating is 0.4 points higher than its verified Real Score. This suggests that some store reviews may be inflated by fake or incentivized ratings.
Pros & Cons
What Users Love
- Instant song identification
- Works offline
- History of identified songs
- Apple Music integration
Common Complaints
- Limited beyond identification
- Battery usage when always listening
- Some songs not recognized
- Apple-centric features
Verified Reviews (20)
The app that does one thing perfectly
Shazam identifies songs within seconds, every time. In stores, restaurants, movies, TV shows - whenever I hear something I like, Shazam tells me what it is. Simple, fast, reliable.
Offline recognition is impressive
Shazam can identify songs even without internet. It captures the audio fingerprint and identifies when you're back online. This offline capability makes it useful everywhere.
Auto Shazam in Control Center is genius
On iPhone, activating Shazam from Control Center identifies songs continuously in the background. At a club, turn it on and it logs every song played. Effortless identification all night.
Concert identification works
Shazam successfully identifies songs at live concerts. Even with crowd noise and different arrangements, the recognition works. Discovering a live performance song in real-time is satisfying.
Charts show trending discoveries
The Shazam charts showing the most identified songs globally and locally are a unique music trend indicator. What everyone is trying to identify reveals what's catching ears.
Apple Music integration is seamless
Identified songs add directly to an Apple Music playlist. The pipeline from "what's this song?" to "added to my library" takes seconds. For Apple Music users, the integration is perfect.
Spotify integration could be better
Shazam shows Spotify links but the integration isn't as deep as Apple Music's. Since Apple owns Shazam, this bias is expected but frustrating for Spotify users.
Identifies TV show and movie music
Shazam identifies songs playing in TV shows and movies. Watching a show and hearing a great song? Shazam it immediately. This use case makes it indispensable for entertainment.
History is a personal music diary
My Shazam history is a diary of musical moments - the song from that cafe in Paris, the track from my friend's party, the tune from that commercial. Each entry triggers a memory.
Pop-up notification Shazam
Shazam appearing as a notification bubble (like Messenger) that you can tap to identify songs while using other apps is convenient. No need to switch apps.
Visual Shazam for posters and codes
Pointing the camera at Shazam-enabled posters and products for augmented reality experiences is a novel feature. Limited availability but shows interesting future potential.
Identifying songs from humming
Shazam can now identify songs when you hum the melody. Even imperfect humming gets results. This closes the gap when you know the tune but it's not playing around you.
Millions of identified songs
Having 3,000+ identified songs in my Shazam history is a music collection curated by real-world moments. Export this to a playlist and you have the soundtrack of your life.
Social at its best
Sharing "I just Shazamed this" with friends starts music conversations. The social sharing of musical discoveries creates connections around taste and moment.
Artist info and lyrics
After identification, seeing lyrics, artist bio, and similar songs adds context. The post-identification experience turns a moment of curiosity into music exploration.
Technology that feels like magic
Holding up your phone and having it identify a song from a noisy environment in seconds still feels magical. After years of use, the technology continues to impress.
Works in Apple Watch
Raising your wrist and tapping Shazam on Apple Watch to identify a song without pulling out your phone is convenient. Quick, discreet, and the identified song syncs to your phone.
Siri integration built in
"Hey Siri, what song is this?" uses Shazam built into iOS. You don't even need the app for basic identification. The OS-level integration is the ultimate convenience.
Some rare songs still not identified
Very obscure, regional, or unreleased music sometimes isn't in Shazam's database. The catalog is massive but not complete. About 95% identification success rate in my experience.
One of the most useful apps ever made
In a phone full of apps I rarely open, Shazam is consistently useful. The simple utility of "what song is this?" answered instantly makes it one of the most genuinely useful apps ever created.
Showing 1-20 of 12,847 reviews
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Last updated: April 2026