On the eve of the release of iOS 17 to the public, Apple’s Shazam app has now been updated to add support for one of the biggest new features of the iOS 16 update.
The feature, support for Lock Screen widgets on the iPhone, was heavily promoted by Apple in September 2022 and became a foundational feature for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. But despite Apple owning music recognition app Shazam, the app has only just released an update that adds support for Lock Screen widgets.
With the new feature added, Shazam users can now identify songs directly from their iPhone’s lock screen without any extra taps like searching and then opening the app on their home screen.
Music to the ears of 2022
The new Lock Screen widgets are available as part of the latest Shazam update and are available for download from the App Store for anyone who already has the app installed. Don’t have Shazam yet? You can now get it for yourself and it’s completely free.
As for what the new feature has to offer, Shazam’s App Store release notes say people “You can now open Shazam and identify songs right from your lock screen with our Lock Screen Widget. Or try our wider widget, which displays the latest song that you identified.”
You also don’t need the best iPhones to use this new feature. Sure, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have always-on displays, making lock screen widgets even more accessible. But they can also be used on other iPhones – you just need to activate the phone’s display before you can see them.
Shazam now has Lock Screen widgets that help you identify songs! pic.twitter.com/ud4CDuJBgCAugust 22, 2023
Of course, this will also be the case when the new iPhones also arrive in September. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus support Lock Screen widgets through iOS 17, but the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are the only models that support an always-on Lock Screen.