Apple Podcasts

Since Apple revamped its Podcasts app, podcasters have been complaining about bugs related to subscription-based episodes.

According to a report from The Verge, “podcasters say the platform has failed them in various ways.” They say Apple Podcasts Connect, for example, “has a confusing interface that often leads to user error scenarios “that have them pinging Apple at all hours of the day in a panic.”

Apple has long been the dominant player in the podcast market. However, while Apple Podcasts has evolved quite a bit since the “tape player” 1.0 version, it’s not perfect. Today, I want to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Apple Podcasts with a particular focus on how the app still struggles to sync across multiple devices.

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and channels officially launched this week giving both creators and listeners more flexibility. While the two new features can work together, they can also function separately. Follow along for a look at how they work in iOS 14.6 and later.

Apple has announced in an email to podcasters today that it is delaying the launch of Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. The company had originally said this new platform for paid podcasts would launch in May, but it’s now delaying the rollout to allow it to make further tweaks to the Apple Podcasts application.

Ahead of the public launch of Apple Podcasts Subscriptions later this month, Apple has announced a new affiliate program for the platform. This affiliate program will pay out a 50% commission to the person who shared the link when a user converts to a paid subscription.

Spotify has inked another major deal to lock a popular podcast into its own ecosystem. Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s hit show Armchair Expert, which currently sits near the top of the Apple Podcasts charts, will become a Spotify exclusive on July 1.

The new Apple Podcasts Subscriptions platform is expected to launch this month, and Apple continues to reach deals with high-profile studios. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the Wondery podcast studio, owned by Amazon, will offer its Wondery+ subscription service through Apple Podcasts.

Apple Podcasts is the AM to Apple Music’s FM. The two apps should be almost on par at all times, particularly now that the company is turning podcasts into an app that includes paid subscriptions. The app hasn’t always gotten the love it deserves, but that’s starting to change. There are lots of ways Apple could take the podcasts app to the next level as it enters into a new era. Here are some of my ideas…

Apple has so far dabbled with a small array of original podcasts, including the For All Mankind companion show and true crime series The Line.

However, rumors have persisted that Apple has bigger ambitions in this space as it looks to compete with the growing podcast libraries from the likes of Spotify. Today, Vox Media’s Peter Kafka says that he believes Apple will announce a new podcast subscription service on Tuesday, at Apple’s April ‘Spring Loaded’ event.

iOS 14.5 is bringing a variety of changes and enhancements to the Podcasts app on iPhone and iPad. With a recent server side change, the new Podcasts app displays the release schedule for a particular podcast on the show details page.

As shown in the screenshots, the episodic release period — such as weekly, monthly, or daily — is now shown alongside the podcast category and ratings summary inside of Apple Podcasts …

It’s been two years since Apple held its Services event to introduce Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and Apple Card. Last September, the company announced the Apple One subscription, where you can bundle services and pay less for them.

With iOS 14.5 destined to arrive rather sooner than later, the company could be planning another addition to the One subscription: Podcasts+, here’s why:

If you ask Apple how many podcast shows there are out there, the official answer is “more than 2 million.” You’d find the same answer at Podcast Index, which actually puts it at closer to 2.5M shows. But a media company specializing in audio content says these numbers are misleading.

The reason? The total includes what Amplifi Media calls “one and done” shows – a lot of them …

With iOS 14.5, Apple continues to introduce some interesting changes to the interface of the Podcasts app. With iOS 14.5 beta 4 released today, Apple has more changes to the Podcasts app, including a new “Welcome” interface that promotes the “Smart Play Button.”

With iOS 14.5, Apple introduced some interesting changes to the interface of the Podcasts app, which had already been improved with the release of iOS 14 last year. However, one small change that users may not have noticed is that Apple is now replacing the word “subscribe” with “follow” for podcasts.

Over the last few years, Spotify has been seriously ramping up its investment in podcasts with multiple acquisitions, building out a roster of exclusive shows, and more. Now it looks like those efforts are starting to pay off as Spotify is reportedly set to surpass Apple in monthly US podcast listenership according to a new analyst note.

Apple is launching its first podcast series connected to an original series on its Apple TV+ video streaming service. For All Mankind: The Official Podcast is hosted by actor Krys Marshall, who plays astronaut Danielle Poole on the show. The weekly podcast series will include interviews with more cast members, space experts, and former astronauts.

Apple Podcasts has launched a new editorial franchise that will highlight and celebrate rising podcast creators every month. The new Apple Podcasts Spotlight editorial feature is available starting today in the Apple Podcasts app on all platforms.

More evidence has emerged of Apple’s plans to launch a podcast subscription service. The Information reports today that Apple is “discussing launching a new subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts,” but it’s “unclear when—or whether—Apple will launch the new service.”

Update: Bloomberg has published a new report corroborating that Apple is “working on adding a subscription service to its podcasting business in 2021.”

2020 is (thankfully) coming to a close and Apple has shared some handy collections for what it considers the best content from this year. The lists include the most popular podcasts, books, audiobooks, and more like “Biggest Shows of 2020.” And in a first, Apple Podcasts has named a “Show of the Year” with the honor going to NPR’s Code Sw!tch.