14 DAY TRIAL // Business Insider reports on Monday that Apple has bought the popular Shazam music recognition app and augmented reality (AR) service for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition was confirmed by both Shazam and Apple earlier today, and while no financial details were revealed just yet, Business Insider has reported last week that a person familiar with the deal told them Apple paid about $400 million for Shazam, though the company was estimated over $1 billion lately.
"We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple," said Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr. "Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms."
Apple has exciting plans for its Apple Music streaming service
In the statement, Apple spokespeople said "Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit," signaling some exciting plans for its Apple Music music and video streaming service in delivering great music discovery and delivering capabilities in a future update to iOS, macOS, and watchOS users.
Shazam was and it's still is one of the highest rated apps in the App Store, allowing users to identify the media playing around them, as well as song lyrics from their favorite artists. The app is currently being used by hundreds of millions of users around the globe, and it will be further improved over at Apple.
Most probably, Apple will integrate Shazam into its iOS and macOS operating systems as integrated functionality for Siri and Apple Music to help users easily discover music. Siri is already capable of identifying a song on the Mac, iPhone, or iPad, but with Shazam it can get a major boost and do more than identifying music.