Unlock this hidden iPhone feature to quickly ID songs

Unlock this hidden iPhone feature to quickly ID songs

You come upon a song, one that you've never heard before, and you're really feeling it, so of course you're curious to know the song title and artist. Maybe you ask someone nearby if they know it or you search the lyrics, but if that's not possible -- you've always got Shazam on your iPhone.

Although music identification apps are great for discovering new music, they're not really necessary to help you ID a song. In fact, your iPhone has a built-in feature known as Music Recognition, which is powered by Shazam, and allows you to quickly recognize songs directly from the Control Center, without having to download anything.

In this guide, we'll show you how to set up the feature, use it to identify music and find all the songs you recognize, which for some reason end up hidden on your iPhone.

music-recognition-shazam — Add the Music Recognition feature to the Control Center
Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Set up your iPhone's music recognition feature

Before you can use the Music Recognition feature, you must first enable it. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Control Center and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Under More Controls, you should see Music Recognition. Tap the green plus sign next to it and that will add the button to your Control Center.

Quickly recognize songs on your iPhone

To use Shazam's built-in Music Recognition on your iPhone (it works with the iPad, too), simply swipe down from the top right of your iPhone to access your Control Center -- or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on devices with a home button -- and tap on Music Recognition.

The Music Recognition button will turn white and you'll see a notification at the top of the screen that says Shazam Music Recognition: On, which means that Shazam is listening for music (you might also see an orange led light on newer iPhone models, indicating that your microphone is turned on).

After a few seconds, the feature should tell you the song name and artist if it recognizes a song (you won't see anything if it doesn't). You'll see more information in a small notification that only appears for a few seconds at the top of the screen. If you tap on it, you'll be redirected to the Shazam App Clip, which is a bite-size version of the full app, so that you don't have to download anything from the App Store.

Unfortunately, unlike the Shazam app, the App Clip version does not store your songs recognized by the built-in Music Recognition feature. Instead, if you go back to the App Clip or even the full Shazam application, you won't find any information.

So where are all your songs recognized by the built-in Music Recognition feature?

How to find the hidden songs IDedd by your iPhone

Just like you would when using Music Recognition, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access the Control Center, but instead of tapping on the Shazam button, hold and press for a long second or so.

A window for the Music Recognition feature will appear, showing your entire hidden history of songs recognized by Shazam through the built-in music ID feature. The number of songs will appear in the top right, and you can scroll down your list to view all your songs, with the most recently recognized songs at the top.

If you tap on a song, it will open in the Shazam App Clip. Here you'll have the option to play a preview of the song, open it in the music player of your choice, and view other top songs from the artist, the featured album, similar songs and more.

Pretty easy, right? If you're looking for other lesser-known features on your iPhone, check out our iOS 15 hidden features you didn't know you needed. You can also read our iOS 15 review, in case you haven't yet updated. And if you're looking to upgrade your iPhone, learn more about which model might be best for you.

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The evolution of Apple gadgets

The evolution of Apple gadgets

1 of 24 Getty Images

The evolution of Apple gadgets

First released in June 2007, the original iPhone revolutionized technology. But it wasn't Apple's first major gadget. Here's a visual trip through Apple's many gadget hits and misses.

2 of 24 Brooks Kraft/Getty Images

Newton MessagePad

Let's start with Apple's inaugural mobile device, the Newton MessagePad, first developed in 1993.

The personal digital assistant was the first hardware to feature handwriting recognition, but the ahead-of-its-time innovation was discontinued in 1998.

3 of 24 Getty Images

iPod Classic

Introduced in 2001, the first-generation iPod revolutionized music consumption. The hardware included a black-and-white LCD screen and a 5GB hard drive that could store up to 1,000 songs.

4 of 24 Kim Kulish/Getty

iPod U2 Special Edition

Not every iPod was a hit, though.

Introduced in 2004, the U2 special edition black iPod came equipped with an eye-friendly red click wheel... and a price tag $50 higher than the original model.

Sales were so poor that the flop is now a collector's item fetching tens of thousands of dollars.

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iPod Photo

Unveiled in 2004 -- along with the U2 Special Edition iPod -- the iPod Photo is an upgraded version of the fourth-generation device. This iPod supported several photo types and it could be attached to a TV.

6 of 24 New York Daily News Archive

iPod Mini

Released in February 2004, the iPod Mini featured the same touch-sensitive scroll that the third-generation iPod had. The difference in the device -- other than being smaller -- was the click wheel.

The iPod Mini was discontinued in 2005.

7 of 24 Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images

iPod Shuffle

The smallest iPod model, and the first Apple device to use flash memory, was released in January 2005. The shuffle played random songs that were previously loaded by the user.

8 of 24 Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

iPod Video

Coming off the iPod Photo, Apple introduced the fifth-generation iPod a year later. This upgraded version was the first Apple digital audio device that could play video. This is also the last iPod model to use a glass face.

9 of 24 Getty Images

iPod Nano

In 2005, Apple decided to replace the iPod Mini with the Nano. The tiny device, equipped with a color screen, stored music with flash memory. The first-generation Nano had a battery life of up to 14 hours.

10 of 24 Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

First-generation iPhone

After years of rumors, Apple finally announced their first smartphone in January 2007. As Steve Jobs put it at the unveiling of the smartphone in 2007, the iPhone is a combination of a "widescreen iPod with touch controls", a "revolutionary mobile phone" and a "breakthrough internet communicator."

Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year.

11 of 24 David Paul Morris/Getty Images

iPod Touch

Released the same year as the first-gen iPhone, the iPod Touch is similar to the smartphone except it's lighter, cheaper and doesn't use a cellular network.

12 of 24 Getty Images

3rd-generation iPod Nano

With a design that mirrored the iPod Classic, the third-generation Nano was the first model of the device to allow video playback. The iPod Nano came in multiple colors and two storage sizes, 4 and 8GB.

13 of 24 Kim Kulish/Getty Images

Apple TV

Unveiled as "iTV" in 2006, the first-generation Apple TV, a digital media player, needed an iTunes connection to work. The following year, Apple released a major update that turned it into a standalone device.

14 of 24 Mario Tama/Getty Images

iPhone 3G

In July 2008, Apple's second-gen iPhone 3G was released with a multitude of upgraded features. The improved hardware included a sleek and sturdy design, an improved battery and a rear camera.

15 of 24 Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

iPad

Nearly two decades after releasing the Newton MessagePad, Apple re-entered the tablet game with the iPad, a 9.7-inch touchscreen display.

After just 80 days on the market, Apple sold 3 million iPads.

16 of 24 MacFormat Magazine

iPad Mini

Announced in 2012, the iPad Mini is the fifth product in the Apple's line of tablets. The device's screen is nearly 2 inches smaller than the original iPad.

17 of 24 Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images

iPhone 5S

Released in 2013, the iPhone 5S was the first Apple smartphone to incorporate the Touch ID technology that allows a user's fingerprint to unlock the device.

18 of 24 Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images

iPhone 5C

The iPhone 5C, made out of a durable hard-coated polycarbonate shell, was the first of Apple's smartphones to be offered in different eye-friendly colors.

19 of 24 Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

iPhone 6 Plus

In September 2014, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 6 Plus, a smartphone with a huge 5.5-inch display and an upgraded camera.

In the next version, the iPhone 6S Plus, Apple introduced the force-touch feature.

20 of 24 Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Apple Watch

Introduced as the "next chapter in Apple's story," the Apple Watch was released in four different options: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch Edition and Apple Watch Hermes.

21 of 24 Getty Images

iPad Pro

The first iPad Pro, released in November 2015, is the largest and most powerful Apple tablet on the market. The 12.9-inch device was offered in three different colors: gold, silver and space gray.

In 2016, a 9.7-inch iPad Pro was announced with the addition of the rose-gold color option.

22 of 24 MacLife Magazine

Apple Pencil

The Apple Pencil, released in 2015, is a digital stylus for the iPad Pro. The Bluetooth device can detect force, and it's designed specifically for drawing and other creative activities.

23 of 24 Edge Magazine

4th-generation Apple TV

In the first major update since 2010, the fourth-generation Apple TV promised to be the future of television. The update included the addition of Siri and a new touch remote that featured swipe-to-select functionality.

24 of 24 Stephen Lam/Getty Images

AirPods

Released in December 2016, the AirPods' wireless Bluetooth earbuds offer a ton of functionality. The headphones have Siri capability and sync through iCloud, and they support any Bluetooth 4.0 device.

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