With our Bright Stuff buying guide, we’re happy to help you find the best product of the moment. This time: podcast apps, because there is a suitable podcast app for every type of listener.
Because podcasts are so popular, many app makers are trying to cash in by creating a podcast app. This has a Champions League effect and ensures that the best apps are pitted against each other. So there is a lot of choice, and there is something to be said for many apps. We are creating some order in that laundry list – these are our favorite podcast apps:
Overcast
The reason for this list is the tenth anniversary from Overcast. Developer Marco Arment was quick to come up with his own podcast app ten years ago. He is a podcaster, listener and software developer himself, and therefore in the perfect position to create an app himself. Overcast is only available for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and is especially popular among the more tech-oriented Apple user.
To start with, Overcast has a few options that make listening more enjoyable. The voice boost function makes voices fuller and more audible, especially in podcasts that are less professionally recorded. Overcast also evens out volume differences between different podcasts, so you don’t have to keep adjusting. You can also choose to turn on a function that automatically skips silences in podcasts. This can be done per podcast, and it ensures that you listen at a normal pace and still save time. The app even keeps track of how much time that is: the undersigned saved 18 hours in ten years.
The completely revamped version makes Overcast much faster than before. The design has been refreshed, so that you can still clearly distinguish between new episodes, playlists and your list of subscribed podcasts on one home screen. Overcast strikes a good balance between simple and complex, with enough options but not too many buttons. The nicest trick: Smart Resume, where the app rewinds a few seconds when you pause, so you don’t miss anything.
Overcast is gratis to use with advertising, or ten euros per year without advertising. Have you ever bought Overcast? Then this new version can also be used without advertising, as long as you use the same Apple ID.
Apple Podcasts
The standard podcast app from Apple is nice and simple and fast. Many functions that Overcast has, for example, are not offered by the app from Apple. But you do get a superior Discover function in return. If you want to find new podcasts, then the app from Apple is one of the best places to start. Especially in the Dutch-language area, the app from Apple is one of the better places to find new podcasts.
But Apple has also recently introduced a really cool feature for listeners of English-language podcasts: transcriptions. With the help of AI, Apple Podcasts makes the full text of the podcast visible. The result is astonishing: you see the full text spoken in the podcast, complete with capital letters, correct punctuation and neatly divided into paragraphs. The text turns white at the point where the podcast is at that moment, and you can also easily scroll to another point and continue there immediately. You can of course also search the text – ideal if you are looking for a specific point in a podcast.
Apple Podcasts comes standard on every iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Pocket Casts
One of the most popular apps out there for both Android and iOS, Pocket Casts is owned by the same company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr, and behind a whole list of services. Pocket Casts is packed with features, especially for discovering new podcasts and building your playlist. A simple swipe on an episode adds it to your playlist, which you can easily organize. And filters make your long list of subscribed podcasts even more complicated, by newness, played or not, and more.
Here too, there is a Trim Silence function, which automatically cuts away long silences to save time. And with the different themes, you can easily customize Pocket Casts to your own taste. Discovering new podcasts is well done in Pocket Casts, and shows a nice mix of both English and Dutch podcasts.
Also not unimportant: Pocket Casts is perfectly free to use. If you pay, you get extras such as access to the web and desktop apps and the apps for Apple Watch and Wear OS. You can also add bookmarks – but you don’t miss out on all that if you don’t pay. What is cool about the paid function: the option to put your own audio files in the app. This way, you can listen to a recorded meeting with the ease of a podcast app.
Pocket Casts is free to download for Android and iOS.
Podcast Addict
A smooth Android app that scores well, and regularly reaches the number one position of the most popular podcast apps on Android. And with good reason: it is nicely customizable, just like Android itself. Within the sleekly designed app you can determine a lot yourself above average: you can change the title of a podcast after subscribing, or even the image.
You can set what you want to happen with new episodes per podcast, and the playlists are also extensively customizable and addable: as many as you want and with any topic. The possibilities for finding new podcasts are extensive, from a custom discover page to possibilities to import RSS feeds. Speaking of RSS: you can also read text in this app, so you can just read your favorite sites while listening to your favorite podcasts. And even web radio is built into the app.
Podcast Addict is free to download for Android, but you will see a constant banner at the bottom of the screen. For 1.09 euros per month you can turn it off, and if you are a bit of a podcast listener, it is worth it.
A Spotify a YouTube Music then?
You can also listen to podcasts in Spotify and YouTube Music, but it remains a limited experience. These apps are primarily made for listening to music, not for podcasts, and you will continue to notice that. Moreover, it is annoying to hear podcasts with advertisements if you pay for those services: that is possible, because those podcasts are simply downloaded for free by YouTube and Spotify.
No, the power of smartphones is precisely the range of apps. An app specifically for one purpose is often better than an app that tries to do everything.
Last tip: find the OPML file
Switching to a new podcast app may seem like a hassle, but most apps support the OPML file. This is a special file that contains all of your subscribed podcasts. Many podcast apps can export and import this file, making it quick and easy to switch between apps.
Read more buying advice at Bright Stuff.
Source: www.bright.nl
