Shazam launches stripped-down music recognition app

Shazam is a fantastic app for identifying music but, judging by the launch of a new version, it is not for everyone. Its maker believes that potential new users in emerging markets might be better served by a smaller and lighter version of the app, so today it introduces Shazam Lite.

Unlike Shazam, which takes just under 60MB of storage on a OnePlus 3, Shazam Lite has "a highly optimized size of less than 1MB" to suit the entry-level Android smartphones that are taking over emerging markets. It is not uncommon for such a device to have 8GB or 16GB of storage.

Shazam Lite is also designed to use "as little data as possible", as the users it targets are typically limited by low data caps and poor cellular coverage.

"We're focused on providing Shazam in areas where connectivity is poor and available devices may be limited", says Iordanis Giannakakis, head of Android Engineering at Shazam. "Shazam Lite was built from the ground up with listeners from these regions in mind and it aims to bring the core, ‘magic’ Shazam experience to them".

Shazam says that, even though it has engineered Shazam Lite to be small and light when it comes to resource use, users will be able to enjoy a "simple, high-quality music discovery experience". And it packs just the features that you would expect.

The app lets users "Shazam" music while offline -- the actual recognition will happen when connected to the Internet though -- and save the results. And that is pretty much it, judging by the info released by the company.

As I mentioned early, Shazam Lite is meant for Android users, and it is unlikely that we will see an iOS version of the app anytime soon. It is currently offered only in India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, and Vietnam in English, and Venezuela in Spanish. You can get it from Google Play.

I'm a bit disappointed that it is not offered in more markets, because, quite frankly, that is all that I would like to be able to do with Shazam, and I believe there are other Android users who feel the same. The extra features are nice to have, but if you only want to find out which song is playing then Shazam Lite is just what you need.