Apple Confirms Acquisition of Song-Recognition Company Shazam

12/12/2017 Comments Off on Apple Confirms Acquisition of Song-Recognition Company Shazam Apple, Mobile News Like

You’ve likely heard the hype as of late about Apple potentially purchasing the popular song and image recognition company Shazam for hundreds of millions of dollars. Well, according to a recent announcement by Apple this acquisition is now official.

An Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch the following:

We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS.

To date the Shazam app has been downloaded over 1 billion times. It’s mainly used for recognizing songs and getting song lyrics, but now that it’s been acquired by Apple there is a world of new possibilities for what the popular app may possibly be used for going forward. Apple has not publicly disclosed the acquisition price but it’s estimated to be somewhere in the range of $400 million. Shazam’s estimated value is over $1 billion.

Apple hasn’t mentioned a whole lot about what their plans with Shazam are, but it’s likely that the service will be used to help the evolution of Apple Music as well as develop a deeper integration with Siri. Implementation with Apple’s upcoming HomePod smart speaker is also a possibility. Similar to Google’s Home Max Smart Sound technology, Apple’s HomePod adapts to its surroundings for consistently balanced sound no matter what room or environment it’s in.

With Shazam’s visual recognition technology, it’s also possible that Apple is interested in the company’s augmented reality tech.

It’s expected that the deal will close within the next few weeks. What are some of your thoughts on this news? Tell us what you think in the comments below.