Shazam Adds Music Haptics, Expanding iOS 18 Accessibility Feature

Kevin Kearney Sr. Staff Writer

Updated 23 September 2024

Screenshot of iPhone with multiple music apps in a folder labeled Music

WhistleOut fast facts

Shazam's latest app update includes Music Haptics, an iOS 18 Accessibility addition.
The feature allows deaf and hard-of-hearing users to feel a recording's low end frequencies.
The feature is only available for iOS 18 users with an iPhone 12 or later.

Shazam’s latest update includes Music Haptics, an iOS 18 feature also available in Apple Music and Apple Music Classical. The app will now allow users to enable the feature, which enhances a song’s vibrations through Apple’s Taptic Engine, which powers other haptics, including the clicks in iMessage.

Music Haptics is an extension of Apple’s Accessibility suite, which includes several features designed to make devices more helpful for people with visual, physical, auditory, and speech impairments. Music Haptics aims to amplify a song’s vibrations so it can be enjoyed by deaf and hard-of-hearing users who still want to feel its low end.

WhistleOut Senior Writer Angelo Ilumba tried the Music Haptics in Shazam and Apple Music. Angelo is deaf in one ear and uses Accessibility to turn on Mono Audio so he doesn’t miss some nuances that sometimes only appear in the headphone channel for his bad ear. (He does this by heading to Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Mono Audio.)

Angelo found the Haptic Music setting interesting, though not something he's likely to use in the future. “The vibration is pretty nonstop, with occasional sharper vibrations to match the beat,” he said. “It feels a lot like when you get into an intense part of a video game on PlayStation 5.”

The feature is only available on iPhone 12 and beyond, excluding the third-generation iPhone SE. While you can download iOS 18 on earlier devices, the Music Haptics feature won’t be included. The feature is not available offline.

How to enable Music Haptics on Shazam

Enabling Music Haptics on Shazam is simple. Here's how to do it.

Go to Settings.
Tap Accessibility.
Scroll down to Hearing.

Screenshot of Music Haptics option in Apple Accessibility features

Screenshot of Apple Music Haptics toggled on

Screenshot of Music Haptics toggled on in Shazam app

Toggle Haptic Feedback on. (The switch will turn blue.)

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Kevin Kearney

Sr. Staff Writer

Kevin is an experienced journalist and writer whose musings on tech, education, and culture have appeared in Stereogum, InsideHook, The Millions, and elsewhere. As a Senior Staff Writer for WhistleOut, he offers unique expertise on the inner workings of the mobile industry, and has a particular passion for emerging efficiencies within smartphone apps.

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