Our Verdict
Apple’snewPodcastsapp is a welcome step to contribute attention to audio and TV podcasts that were antecedently swallow in the Music app . But while it has some good thing going for it , it ’s a step that ’s not yet fully realized .
Procuring podcasts
My colleague , Dan Moren , has written an admirablefirst look at the Podcasts app , so I need n’t go into extensive detail on how it works . The gist is that this app functions , in many way , like the iBooks app , complete with ways to take heed to podcasts as well as receive new ones .
Obtaining podcasts is one of the app ’s strengths . Whereas in iTunes and in the iTunes Store app , podcasts could be lost among all the store ’s other subject matter , the Podcasts app take such contentedness securely to the bow . To view available podcasts , simply tap the catalogue button and you ’re take to the shop ’s compendium of podcasts . you’re able to view this in a few ways .
The first is by tapping the Featured button at the bottom of the filmdom . Do so on an iPhone or iPod touch and you see a few featured slot and then a leaning of podcasts that admit both audio and video offering . On an iPad there ’s a New & Noteworthy orbit and , currently , a Podcaster Starter Pack section that admit the kind of podcasts — Radiolab , TEDTalks , andThis American Life — that those newfangled to podcasting will want to retard out .
Featured Performers: As with the iTunes Store app, you can view featured content in the Podcasts app.
Featured Performers : As with the iTunes Store app , you may look at featured content in the Podcasts app .
rap Top Charts on an iPhone or iPod cutaneous senses and you see the store ’s top ten podcasts — this can include video as well as audio podcasts . On an iPad you see audio and telecasting podcasts listed under separate aim .
you could further constrict your search by tapping a Categories clitoris and choosing a podcast musical genre such as Arts , Health , Music , News & Politics , or Technology from a list . Do so and the top podcasts for that musical genre appear . And , of course , if you do it what you ’re front for , just expend the Search field .
Drawing a Blank: When cover art is missing, you won’t know a program’s identity until you tap its Info button.
Audience and interface
quarter a Blank : When get across artwork is missing , you wo n’t know a program ’s identity until you exploit its Info button .
The Now Playing screen for audio podcasts is another interesting intent decisiveness — some of which is useful and other bits , not so . When you first set forth playing a podcast , the Now Playing screen shows that large piece of covering fire art . Below the art are Back , Forward , and Play / interruption contain in addition to buttons for skipping back 10 s and jump forth 30 seconds . If you ’d like to reckon other episode of the platform , just tap the Playlist ikon in the top right corner of the screen and a playlist appear . To play an instalment within that playlist , simply tap on it and it will stream to your machine . This is all bang-up and well-fixed to use .
When you pilfer up on this artwork you ’re claim to the tape recorder persuasion , where you find additional controller . Among them is a speed control for speeding up or slowing down the podcast without changing tar ( Apple arrogate the faster “ rabbit ” context makes the audio represent twice as fast . It ’s actually about 1.5 times as tight . ) You also line up a timeline , a plowshare button for divvy up link to the podcast via email , Twitter , or the Messages app ; and a sleep timer push button , which allow you to configure the podcast to dally for a certain amount of time ( from five minutes to an minute in growth ) and then stop playing . As the sequence progresses , the virtual tape on the reels decreases on the left reel and increases on the right field . It ’s a clever effect , but as the timeline shows you where you are in nearly all cases , it seems more gimmick than help .
Chapter and Verse: The Podcasts app supports navigating via chapters, but provides no chapter titles.
Like the built - in Music app , the Podcasts app corroborate scrub at a variety of speed . go a podcast performing and drop behind on the playhead . When you do , the podcast scrubs ( wager short snippets of audio ) at gamey pep pill . Drag your fingerbreadth down while scrubbing and the scrubbing speed decreases from high speed , to half speed , to quarter speed , to o.k. scouring . you may scrub up both back and forward .
That timeline can be confusing in that it take Back and Forward push button that do n’t appear to do anything — that is , until you play an audio podcast you ’ve downloaded that contain chapter . When you play such a podcast , you see fresh chapter button below the timeline . The first release will read Chapter 1 and the 2d , All chapter . When the instalment gets to the next chapter , the name of the first release change to Chapter 2 . If you tap All Chapters , the timeline becomes segment , with each mark indicate a new chapter .
Chapter and Verse : The Podcasts app supports navigating via chapter , but put up no chapter title .
Those Back and Forward buttons in the timeline now come into swordplay . When you tap on them , you skip back or forward a chapter , respectively . As you do so , the spool speed up to show that you ’re skip through a significant amount of metre , which is kind of cute . But I ’d wish more from the chapters feature . When you mind to an episode that contains chapter in iTunes , you may easily voyage to other chapters by selecting them from a list ( plus those chapters include their chapter titles rather than a generic “ Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , and so on ) . While Podcasts ’ chapter button and segmented timeline work sanely well with the timeline conceit , they ’re not the most efficient way of life to move between chapter .
About syncing
The app is subject of syncing — to an extent . When you play a podcast instalment on one iOS gadget and then move to another iOS gadget tied to the same Apple ID , playback on the second gimmick will pick up where the first left off . ( supply , of course , that each gadget has net access . ) However , this is n’t lawful between iOS devices and iTunes . ( Apple makes no claim that it is . ) The Podcasts app wo n’t bookmark a podcast in iTunes so that when hear on your computer you’re able to continue from where you last quit .
Macworld’s buying advice
While I ’ve been more critical than encouraging in this follow-up , Podcasts is n’t a terrible app . citizenry new to podcasts will find it useful and sensibly gentle to operate . And the fact that Apple broke podcasts out of the confines of a busy depot is a boon for fan ( and presently - to - be - fans ) of the spoken discussion . But with its occasionally kinky interface and lack of features such as iTunes and subscription syncing , it ’s only a modestly open first footmark . I ’m hopeful that we ’ll see some significant tweaks and improvement in the next loop . In the interim — for the Leontyne Price of a couplet of long horse — the App Store has a handful of better podcast apps .
[ Macworld aged editor program Christopher Breen host the Macworld Podcast . ]
