Castro Podcast Player update brings new Discovery section with curated collections, live search, more

The popular iOS Castro Podcast Player has been updated today with new features like a refreshed Discovery section with curated collections, live search, the ability to subscribe to podcasts from search, and more.

As spotted by MacStories, the latest version of the Castro Podcast Player for iOS is live with new features, changes, and naturally some bug fixes.

The headlining new feature is the Discovery section now offers curated collections by the Castro team that will be updated weekly in addition to featured Podcasts based on charts and more. The app also sees live search arrive and the ability to subscribe to new podcasts right from search results (as shown above).

Other changes include a tweak to how notifications behave, improved support for universal links, and more.

Here are the full release notes:

NEW STUFF

• Discovery Section: Includes featured podcasts on category charts and our own curated recommendations feed. Check back each week to find new curated collections!
• Live Search: Searching for podcasts happens live as you type and should be much faster and more accurate than before.
• Faster Subscribing: You can now subscribe directly from search results without tapping in to the podcast first.

CHANGES

• The notification dot on the inbox now behaves more like social media apps — instead of being active until you empty your inbox, it’s only visible when there are new things added that you haven’t seen yet.
• Email Support option in settings is easier to find.
• Better support for universal links — Castro no longer sends them to Safari View Controller.
• Adds a setting to persist last user panel on now playing screen
• Inbox renamed to “New”. The Archive tab is now “Library”. Instead of “Archiving” episodes from inbox and queue you “Clear” them.
• Adjusted Enhance Voices to prevent clipping.

FIXES

• Fixes issues where Castro could interrupt Siri while listening over AirPods.
• Improvements to memory management in the Watch App which will hopefully eliminate some crashes there.
• Fixes issue where Castro could crash when restoring backups, or toggling downloads on / off.
• Email links now work properly in show notes.
• Fixes issue where podcast artwork could load very slowly in search results.
• Failed downloads will now automatically retry 3 times instead of requiring the user to manually tap download.

Castro Podcast Player is a free download from the App Store with in-app purchases for Castro Plus.