Apple’s Podcasts app is an acknowledgment that podcasts make up a substantial part of entertainment on iOS devices — more people than ever are subscribing to, learning from, and taking part in conversations around the topics that interest them. Long neglected with basic playback controls and mediocre syncing in the Music app, Podcasts is now its own standalone application. You couldn’t miss the news either — the Music app notifies you of this change on your iPhone or iPad when you open it.
With large and indie media networks recording weekly, if not daily, audio and video content, listeners who want “radio on their own time” can subscribe to and take part in discussions that they otherwise can’t be a part of through traditional radio or broadcast TV (i.e. time slots). Podcasts, while not a new concept, give listeners the opportunity to stream and download often short, consumable chunks of content that that’s more accessible than written text — it’s the way to catch up on news if you’re sitting in rush hour traffic, taking the dog for a walk, or doing the dishes.
Over the years, consuming podcasts becomes an incredibly intimate experience. Because people choose to listen on their own time, and often when they’re doing specific activities where they otherwise can’t read or listen to an available live stream, people look for specific features tailored to provide a custom listening experience. Being able to increase the playback rate of podcasts, set sleep timers, create playlists, add bookmarks, and stream podcasts over wireless networks has become increasingly important. Features, more-so than fancy user interfaces, are often preferred by users who regularly listen to podcasts.
Apple’s Podcasts application on iOS is their new central hub for finding, subscribing to, and listening to podcasts on your own terms. In consideration of how Apple’s podcast directory (their Catalogue) and podcatcher intermingle, it’s a pretty typical Apple experience. And in places where I thought Apple would fall short, I’m actually impressed at the amount of stuff they’ve added to their once featureless podcatcher. While Apple has certainly gone above and beyond my expectations in what they’ve provided, I think there can be some room for improvement.
