With the podcasts market getting more competitive by the day, Apple on Tuesday reveal new features for its Podcasts app to keep up. The key new feature is Podcasts Subscriptions, a new service available in 170 countries in May. With Podcasts Subscriptions, listeners can get features such as exclusive content and early access to new series, and ad-free shows.
With more and more shows happening frequently, it can be difficult to find shows that appeal to you. To help solve that problem, Apple is introducing a new Channels feature, which groups shows curated by creators. Users will be able to check out the content of free channels, and paid subscriptions will also be available.
These changes will be available in the Podcasts app in iOS 14.5. The app also has new pages that feature artwork for each show, an enhanced Search tab, and the ability to save individual episodes for offline playback. The Podcast app also has a new Smart Play button that automatically starts “episodic shows from the latest episode and serialized shows from the beginning of each series.”
For podcast creators, Apple has a new Podcasts for Creators website. According to Apple, the website helps “creators learn more about podcasting, stay informed about the latest news and features, and explore in-depth guides with best practices.”
