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If only your intentions were not so transparent. Yes, it appears that I was wrong. But the initial question remains. Why would you have suspected that it wouldn't use iCloud? It's a very strange and unprecedented decision by Apple.

I really like to know what my intentions are since they are so transparent.:rolleyes:

Because they patch up these days instead of implementing things with proper solutions and services, that's why, it's no surprise to me at all that they wouldn't use icloud.
 
They definitely do not. Was going to go complain about it not having 2x and 1/2x speed until I saw someone on here mention how to get to it. Just happened to accidentally come across the preferences for keeping podcasts, which is nice to have but not obvious to get to.

I'm all for things looking cool, but it is sometimes getting in the way of usability for this and other iOS and OS X apps. Based on the keynote, Address Book (soon to be Contacts) looks like it will be again more usable in Mountain Lion.

Maybe by the time iOS 6 comes out, they will tweak some things for us in the new Podcasts app. It's promising but doesn't seem polished right now. I like the little touches they're adding to things, as long as they do get in the way of the "big touches".

I don't know... They used the same right arrow that they use across all of iOS to denote contextual menus. Doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.
 

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Anyone got syncing across devices working yet? Can't figure out how to configure it on across my Mac, iPhone and iPad...

From the requirements page:

"Optionally syncing episodes requires iTunes 10.6.3 or later"


Mine seems to be syncing just fine. It pretty much works the same as it as always did between iTunes and the Music apps on the iDevices.
 
Unless I'm missing something, I don't see where I can link it using my Apple ID to the podcasts I'm subscribed to on my Apple TV. I'm logged in with my ID but in this new app, I don't see it importing automatically my currently subscribed podcasts.

I think that would be a great feature to have and be able to keep them sync'd so that my viewed podcasts are always up to date on my iOS devices, including ATV and iTunes on OS X or Windows.
 
That's in iTunes. That will work. But if you want to exist outside of iTunes you don't get that choice.

Actually you can do it right within the Podcasts app. You need to click on the little settings gear for all the options related to that. Seems there is quite a bit of misinformation in this thread.
 
Possibilities...

On my iPhone 4 this app is laggy as hell. As a first attempt, it's ok. It's a great idea to have a dedicated podcast app from the manufacturer, but it really doesn't compare that well to Instacast.

I will say this app would work better with, oh...perhaps a larger screen? Boy a few more pixels on top or bottom would be much better when scrolling through podcasts. ;)
 
Unless something just went wrong, it appears that subscribing to a podcast in this app disables any sort of syncing with iTunes (Mac) for that podcast. No playback sync. No iTunes Wi-Fi Sync. No direct sync.

Is anybody getting different results?
 
Unless something just went wrong, it appears that subscribing to a podcast in this app disables any sort of syncing with iTunes (Mac) for that podcast. No playback sync. No iTunes Wi-Fi Sync. No direct sync.

Is anybody getting different results?

I believe an updated iTunes is needed for the sync to work directly with the app. Just like how books (pdf) needed one to work with ibooks.app

I can't see why apple released this app so early. iCloud sync where subscribed podcast on 1 device appears on the rest (it doesn't have to d/l them just appear would have been good enough) is a much needed feature that obviously will come in due time.

But honestly this app should have come out at the iPhone 5 keynote where iOS6 has a GM announced.
 
I believe an updated iTunes is needed for the sync to work directly with the app. Just like how books (pdf) needed one to work with ibooks.app

I can't see why apple released this app so early. iCloud sync where subscribed podcast on 1 device appears on the rest (it doesn't have to d/l them just appear would have been good enough) is a much needed feature that obviously will come in due time.

But honestly this app should have come out at the iPhone 5 keynote where iOS6 has a GM announced.

I agree. The timing seems odd. It appears to be designed for iOS 6. Maybe Apple felt the need to release it early, since it will be the only Apple option once iOS 6 is released. Work out the kinks while people still have the option to use the Music app. Syncing via the iTunes Store instead of iCloud is baffling.
 
Ugh, the "forward" and "reverse" buttons on the lock screen still skip entire episodes. Total deal breaker for me.

It's important to me because there isn't adequate spacing between the play/pause and the skip buttons on the lock screen... sometimes I want to hit pause, and instead I get bumped to a new episode (even worse, with audiobooks I get sent to a new chapter, with no easy way to revert back to my original location).

It's just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen. I'll be sticking with Instacast, it seems.
 
To me it makes perfect sense to sync via the iTunes Store instead of iCloud, for two reasons:

1) It seems clear from things such as the "redeem" button that Apple will be offering paid subscription podcasts in the future. Since the iTunes store is already set up to collect money for digital audio sales, and millions of us have a credit card on file as part of our account, sales will be easy. I also suspect that at some point down the line we will see the option to make "in podcast purchases" (much of what Apple is doing with hardware, iOS and the iTunes store is moving towards them becoming a payment processor).

2) Many of us had the issue where our iCloud credentials differed from our iTunes Store information, so we are using different login information for the two accounts. By linking the new Podcast app with the iTunes Store account, it will make it easier to transfer already subscribed to podcasts to the new app. That is to say, when I subscribed to podcasts, it was under my iTunes account, not my iCloud account.
 
I don't know... They used the same right arrow that they use across all of iOS to denote contextual menus. Doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.

The arrow is a lighter color (looks like they're doing color degradation) off in the middle of blank space (I suppose to allow for long podcast titles, or just so the thumbnail of the podcast isn't too small?), so your eye would not necessarily be drawn to this. And since the music app didn't let you control things such as subscriptions for individual podcasts, you wouldn't necessarily even know you should be looking for it.

And whereas one would expect to be able to adjust the brightness by clicking on brightness, or one's Wifi network by clicking on WiFi, or turn Location Services on or off by clicking an arrow next to "on", etc., one would as readily assume that clicking on the title of the podcast will allow you to change subscription options. I will give you that one might be curious as to what the arrow might do, but I don't think it is obvious that clicking on the title will let you change subscription preferences. After one discovers that that's what it's for, it makes sense.

Tapping to change speed is less intuitive. No arrow, you just have to get frustrated that there are no controls, tap the screen and hope it will do something, have the controls show up and puzzle out that a turtle and and rabbit must have to do with speed. Again, once you do it you will remember it, but it's not easily discoverable by thinking out what action will lead to the desired outcome, in my opinion. I'm sure others will disagree (obviously whoever designed the new podcast app does!).
 
Wow wow wow!!! The new podcasts app isn't just good, it's the best podcasting app ever made ON ANY PLATFORM. EVER. I'm loving the seamless resume playback on all my devices. The UI is absolutely beautiful. Here's another nail in the coffin of Android. If you love listening to podcasts, owning an IOS device just became absolutely essential. Incredible work from Apple once again!

The native music app already does that with WiFi sync...

Nice to have this separate though since I pretty much only listen to Podcasts anyway.
 
To me it makes perfect sense to sync via the iTunes Store instead of iCloud, for two reasons:

1) It seems clear from things such as the "redeem" button that Apple will be offering paid subscription podcasts in the future. Since the iTunes store is already set up to collect money for digital audio sales, and millions of us have a credit card on file as part of our account, sales will be easy. I also suspect that at some point down the line we will see the option to make "in podcast purchases" (much of what Apple is doing with hardware, iOS and the iTunes store is moving towards them becoming a payment processor).

2) Many of us had the issue where our iCloud credentials differed from our iTunes Store information, so we are using different login information for the two accounts. By linking the new Podcast app with the iTunes Store account, it will make it easier to transfer already subscribed to podcasts to the new app. That is to say, when I subscribed to podcasts, it was under my iTunes account, not my iCloud account.

:confused: I'm not sure how that requires anything different than syncing settings through iCloud. Of course, In App purchases would be tracked through the iTunes Store just like in any third-party app.

It should work exactly the same as iBooks. Purchases and downloads are handled by the iTunes Store. Syncing is handled by iCloud automatically.
 
I used the new app on the way home today - man, that things a dog. Listening to the TWIT podcast, the 30 second skip function seemed to take about 10 seconds to actually perform the skip. And hitting buttons in general was not snappy.

I have older hardware (iPhone 3GS), but - this is just a friggin' mp3 player. If the hardware is the limitation, they're doing it wrong. These problems certainly don't occur with the existing music app.
 
I'm going back to Instacast. The syncing of playback position is still not working right for me, so I'll stick with Instacast's iCloud syncing. There are several other things that just seem off about this app. I think that it will be a more mature app by the time iOS 6 is released, but as of now, to someone who's used other podcast apps, this seems half-baked.
 
I notice that there is a bookmarking icon in the fourth image of the App Store screenshots, however this button is for sharing, in the actual app.
Shame, I was really looking forward to Bookmarks.
 
Actually you can do it right within the Podcasts app. You need to click on the little settings gear for all the options related to that. Seems there is quite a bit of misinformation in this thread.

WHAT little settings gear?

Seriously... I've gone around and around with this app, and some of the UI features are delectable, but "little settings gear" eludes me!
 
Can someone answer this question for me:
Will new podcasts download automatically (over wifi) similarly to Newsstand background downloads?

Or at least, will all new podcasts start downloading automatically once I open the app/refresh and on wifi?

This is the most important feature for me, I've only spent a little time with the app so far and wondering if anyone can confirm or deny the above?
 
Can someone answer this question for me:
Will new podcasts download automatically (over wifi) similarly to Newsstand background downloads?

It appears to be downloading in the background over wi-fi, at least based on what I *think* I saw with a couple podcasts.

On a different note: It appears the Podcast app and the Music app are sharing the same database. I downloaded the Podcast app and then subscribed to a couple new podcasts with it. When I later opened the Music app, those new podcasts (and their episodes) were in there!
 
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