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Overcast is a popular iOS podcast app developed by Marco Arment. It’s notable for its voice boost and smart speed features. It was originally released in 2013 as a paid app. Since this, it’s moved to a freemium model with ads. For a annual payment of $9.95, users can remove ads, change to a custom icon, and upload their own audio files to a website to listen inside the application. Overcast offers apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, CarPlay, and the web.

The app’s design strikes a nice balance between following modern iOS design standards, but remaining unique. The default color scheme is light and unobtrusive. The main navigation includes a list of your playlists, your subscriptions, and buttons to further manage your subscriptions and playlists.

Like most third- party podcast apps, it pulls from the Apple Podcasts directory to power its directory, but it also has a way to see what other shows your Twitter followers have recommended.

Recent articles:

What’s the best podcast app for iPhone? (Updated for 2022)

When it comes to listening to podcasts on iOS, there are so many great options. The Apple Podcasts app comes built into every iOS device with syncing. It’s undoubtedly a great app, but is it the best? On iOS, users have countless third-party options. My goal for this article is to break down some of the major podcast apps and help you determine which is best for what you want out of an app. What’s the best podcast app for iPhone?

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Review: Does Wondery Plus bring enough value to warrant the podcast service subscription?

Wondery Plus

I am very particular about podcasts, podcast apps, how to subscribe, and generally anything related to the podcast industry. I change my podcast app of choice on almost a weekly basis. I am passionate about all things podcasts. One trend that I’ve seen in 2020 is a move to premium podcasts for additional content. I subscribe to the premium version of ATP, Cortex, and many others. I love supporting my favorite shows to get additional content. For the past few weeks, I’ve spent some time with Wondery Plus. I’ve been a fan of many Wondery shows for quite a while, so I wanted to see what else they had to offer.
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Player FM

Maple Media purchases podcast app Player FM to expand podcast presence

Maple Media has purchased popular podcast app Player FM. Player FM was one of the top 10 download podcast apps on the App Store and Google Play store during March. Acquisitions of podcast apps seem to be a coming trend after both Pocket Casts and Castro were purchased. Pocket Casts was purchased by WNYC, NPR, WBEZ, and This American Life. Castro was purchased by the owners of Dribble.
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A decade of podcasts: Top 10 best shows of the 2010s

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The decade has come and gone, and if there is one thing that was a massive change for me over the past decade, it was how much time I spent listening to podcasts. I change podcast apps like I change my socks. I subscribe to new shows like other people read magazine articles. As we close out the decade, I wanted to take a look at my favorite shows from 2010 to now. During that time, I’ve seen my friends start new shows, friends start new companies, and have seen major media companies open their eyes to the opportunities that exist in the space. If I don’t list links to subscribe, it means the show is retired.

So let’s get to it. Here are my favorite shows from the 2010s. I’ve left out all 9to5 shows on purpose, but I highly recommend our entire network. My list is mostly tech/Apple focused, but I’d love to hear your favorite shows in the comments.
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What’s the best way to listen to podcasts on Apple Watch?

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I had purchased an Apple Watch Series 4. One of the key reasons I purchased it was for GPS tracking while running. I’ve been listening to podcasts while working out for a good decade even when people thought I was crazy. For me, the Apple Watch with AirPods or Powerbeats Pro is the dream device for running. With watchOS 5, we finally got a built-in Apple Podcast app and support for third-party apps to sync files over to Apple Watch. Since I am such a fanatic about podcasts, I try almost every iPhone podcast app that comes around. For the Apple Watch, there aren’t as many podcast apps that support watch only playback, but I still wanted to give a round-up of the best ones.
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Overcast 5 brings Apple Watch playback, new Now Playing design, Siri Shortcuts, more

Overcast 5.0 is a major update to the podcast player for iPhone and iPad — and now Apple Watch. The Overcast update for iOS 12 and watchOS 5 includes a cleaner Now Playing screen, support for Siri Shortcuts, the return of the standalone Apple Watch app which is now greatly improved, and more.


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Five features that make Overcast better than Apple Podcasts

I’ve been listening to podcasts on Apple devices long before it became mainstream. In fact, I used iPodderX to listen to podcasts on my iPod before iTunes had support. I’ve used just about every podcast app ever made for iOS.

I can say without a doubt that Overcast is the best podcast app that I’ve ever used. From version 1.0, it’s been a mainstay on my home screen. It’s a free download, and there is an optional yearly subscription to disable ads and unlock some additional features. It’s well worth the money.

Here are five reasons why you should replace the default Apple Podcasts app with Overcast.


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Marco Arment’s Overcast 3 testing in-house ads as new app monetization strategy

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Marco Arment’s Overcast podcast player updated to version 3.0 this week and includes a new design with a novel monetization strategy: in-house advertising. Overcast has relied in in-app purchases and subscriptions in the past as well as Google-based advertising, but Arment is now rolling his own ads starting with the latest version.


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Overcast 2.0 adds streaming, podcast chapter marks, Split View, more

Overcast 2.0 is out today and adds several nice updates to the popular podcast client. The app now includes streaming, so you don’t have to download episodes to listen to them: just stream the file contents as you go. This comes in handy for people with low-storage phones but also just helps everyone listen to shows faster, without having to wait for a 50-100MB episode to finishing downloading.


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Overcast 1.1 adds CarPlay, iPad layout and landscape mode on iPhone

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Overcast 1.1 is out now, bringing several big improvements to the podcast client. The update adds rotation support for the iPhone, which is particularly helpful for people with car docks that enforce landscape device orientation. Arment tastefully uses popovers for the playback settings, a UI element that is generally underused on the iPhone.

For iPad, the app is now truly optimized for the larger canvas, making liberal use of split views and modal sheets. Given that Overcast prides itself on a clean appearance, a native iPad UI for navigation is very welcome indeed. Like the stock Mail app, a list view sits side-by-side with episode details like artwork and show notes. 9to5Mac reviewed Overcast when it originally launched, so check that out if you are looking for more details about the app’s functionality.


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