Apple Podcasts to Gain Downloaded Episode Controls, Annual Subscription Plans, and Hosting Partnerships

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced several new features for the Podcasts app, including downloaded episode controls, annual subscription plans, partnerships with hosting platforms, and more (via TechCrunch).

iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, and macOS 12.4 will feature new tools to easily remove accumulated downloads and free up storage space. In the Settings app on iOS and iPadOS under Podcasts, users will be able to choose how many recent episodes of shows are downloaded to a device, either by number of episodes or within a timeframe, such as in the past week.

Users will be able to continue to download all new episodes, but new functionality to turn off downloads will make the Podcasts app function via streaming only. This will be configurable at the show level to provide custom settings for different podcasts.

The updates will also bring features to browse shows by season and filter episodes by status, and give podcast creators the option to present annual subscription plans for premium podcasts alongside monthly subscription options, with annual subscriptions set to become the default. Annual subscriptions will also display cost savings to users where relevant.

The Apple Podcasts Delegated Delivery system will allow creators to distribute both free and premium podcast episodes directly to Apple Podcasts using third-party hosting providers. Creators will not be required to have an Apple Podcasts Program membership to publish their free episodes. Acast, ART19, Blubrry, Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Omny Studio, and RSS.com will be supported at launch in the fall, with more hosting providers to be added over time, and additional details about the new distribution system will be available nearer to launch. Read more on the Apple Podcasts for Creators page.

Downloaded episode controls and annual podcast subscriptions will be available in iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, and macOS 12.4, while Delegated Delivery will debut with supported podcast hosting providers this fall.

Article Link: Apple Podcasts to Gain Downloaded Episode Controls, Annual Subscription Plans, and Hosting Partnerships

 

[Marbles1]

>users will be able to choose how many recent episodes of shows are downloaded to a device

This is already available, on a per show basis.

A universal setting would be welcome though.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

It’s about time. The current Podcast app looks so outdated. It really needs a lot of work.

 

[4jasontv]

I prefer the Apple UX over other apps, but it kept forgetting I had already listened to episodes. I had to move to Audible and now I expect my podcast App to work on Windows and Mac.

 

[fwmireault]

Nice to see that Apple didn't completely forget about this app, there's still a lot of work to do to make it on par with competitors

 

[Dwalls90]

I guess this means 15.5 is coming today or this week?

 

[Razorpit]

😄 Ironically enough I'm looking for a podcast 2.0 app that offers CarPlay and syncs to Apple Watch. Any suggestions?

 

[al256]

I want Carplay to show which podcast episodes are downloaded without having to endlessly scroll while driving to find the ones that are stored.

 

[TonyC28]

But will they add the ability to to view a downloaded episode on CarPlay from a Podcast you dont' subscribe to?

 

[Sakurambo-kun]

I switched to Pocketcasts years ago. Every time I check in on the Apple Podcasts app the UI is amazingly even worse than ever. It's such a convoluted cluttered mess of adverts now I can't imagine using it ever again.

All I want is a screen full of cover art with some sort of little icon which tells me how many unplayed episodes I have. Pocketcasts gives me that.

 

[ericg301]

no opml import/export, no dice.

 

[MLL63QNA]

Call me weird but I haven’t listened to a single podcast yet in my life and I’m 36 years old.

 

[Westside guy]

I used this app for several years, watching Apple gradually make it worse and worse. Whatever Apple says they're going to do with it... it's hard to imagine ever switching back.

 

[zapmymac]

I’m hoping for speed options (1.25/1.5/2.0) on the Apple TV / tvOS. It’s a small but annoying hurdle to have to airplay to get this function.

shoutout : Overcast ?

 

[jonnyb098]

How about showing an episode of something I’m not subscribed to in recently played or up next? Or the app not constantly crashing in the background on iPad? That would be freakin fantastic.

 

[thomasjpr]

I have been wanting this universal download setting forever. Setting it for each of my podcasts (on each device) is incredibly tedious. Thank you Apple.

 

[4jasontv]

I switched to Pocketcasts years ago. Every time I check in on the Apple Podcasts app the UI is amazingly even worse than ever. It's such a convoluted cluttered mess of adverts now I can't imagine using it ever again.

All I want is a screen full of cover art with some sort of little icon which tells me how many unplayed episodes I have. Pocketcasts gives me that.

Why does a podcast app have a IAP for a monthly subscription?

 

[Macwick]

I just want a predictable way to manage the podcast episodes I want to listen to next.

The Up Next feature so confusing. It will automatically add new episodes for podcasts I specify (that's good). But there's no way to manually add other episodes. You can select a given episode and select 'Play Next' but guess what - that's not the same as Up Next! That just adds it to some temporary playlist.

 

[adammusic]

FIX NOTIFICATIONS
FIX NOTIFICATIONS
FIX NOTIFICATIONS

 

[Duncan-UK]

Apologies if I’m way behind here, but does the app still make you store podcasts on your local internal hard drive? I’ve only got 256gb for my Mac Mini as I couldn’t afford to pay the insane prices Apple charge, and I really hate the way they shifted pods from being within the iTunes library (which of course could be stored externally) and made it fixed to the internal SSD.

 

[castlema]

I hope this update will fix the issue where a podcast shows as downloaded to my phone but when I go to play it I am told it is not available.

 

[Gator5000e]

Call me weird but I haven’t listened to a single podcast yet in my life and I’m 36 years old.

I don't listen to many but there are a few Audio plays that are great. They have actors, sound effects and the like. My first one was called 1865 which tells the story of what happened immediately after Lincoln's assassination. It is fantastic, especially if y9ou like history. After each episode the producers talk about the actual events from US history, what changes they made, if any, and if they did why (usually it's because there was no direct information available to fill a gap). There are two season of 1865. Highly recommended.

Right now, I am listening to Solar, which is a sci-fy audio play about a mission to the Sun. Again very good. The season is not quite over yet. So podcasts can be fun to listen to.

 

[_Spinn_]

I'm sticking with iCatcher. It is way easier to customize to fit my usage.

 

[ackmondual]

On my Pixel 4A, I queued up a podcast to listen to for a long drive. It brought up some Google podcast app for that. I was just expecting to do everything through a web browser, but having a dedicated app for that was welcome. This article is reminding me I should look more into that, as it was a pleasant surprise to discover!

 

[ackmondual]

Why does a podcast app have a IAP for a monthly subscription?

I'm guessing the IAP goes towards the cost of the subscription? Purchase it once and it'll charge you monthly until it's done, or you manually cancel it?