A good podcast app can offer more than just playing episodes of your favorite shows. They offer a wide variety of features, from automatically downloading and sorting the latest episodes of your subscribed podcasts to managing your subscriptions. Some also include audio tools for the best possible listening experience. In the following, we will introduce you to five podcast platforms and their functions.
Google Podcasts
In 2018, Google released its own podcast app. Google Podcasts has a nice, sleek design, but the real star of the show is how it links up with other Google services.
You can start a podcast on your mobile phone while you are driving and continue the podcast on your smart speaker or smart TV at home where you left off. Other functions include adjusting the playback speed, integrating the Google Assistant and adding podcasts to the app directly from Google search.
Google also promises AI-supported functions such as automatic subtitling for the future. For now, the focus is on discovering podcasts. The Explore tab recommends podcasts based on your interests.
Spotify
Spotify may not be the first app that comes to mind when it comes to podcasts. But the streaming service also supports audio and video podcasts, as well as a nifty spoken word section in the app. Since 2019, Spotify has been investing more and more in the podcast area and has acquired the podcast producer Gimlet Media and the podcast creation tool Anchor. Some of the most popular podcasts are now running exclusively on Spotify - including Fest & Fluschig and Mixed Hack.
Spotify organizes podcasts into a variety of categories such as Stories, Sports & Leisure, and Comedy, making it easy to find new podcasts. As a listener, you can subscribe to individual podcasts, manage downloads and share podcasts via social media. The playback and management options are sparse compared to other apps, but if you're already using Spotify for your music streams then just give it a try. Tip: Podcasts run smoothly and without advertising even in a free Spotify account..
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts has long been one of the most popular mobile podcast apps thanks to features like cross-device and cross-platform syncing and automatic episode download and removal. Since September 2019, the previously paid app has even been available free of charge on mobile phones, without losing any functions for free users.
In addition to cross-platform synchronization, Pocket Casts enables podcast discovery based on categories or your listening habits. The app also offers organizational tools for streaming and downloading episodes, configurable controls covering time skips, sleep timers and more. Pocket Casts Plus gives you desktop and web applications, 10 GB of cloud storage, and themes and custom icons.
Castbox
The CastBox podcast platform combines a clear user interface, a good selection of podcasts and a powerful podcast audio search into a comprehensive mobile podcatcher. Users can sign in with Gmail, Facebook, or Twitter and then find and subscribe to podcasts, download episodes for offline listening, and sync their subscriptions across devices. You can stream podcasts through Chromecast or Amazon Echo. A premium level removes subscription limits, allows the homepage to be customized and gives priority to customer support and new functions..
Podcast Addict
Podcast Addict is a feature-rich Android podcast app that comes with a few nice extras. It covers all important functions: the automatic update of episodes and downloads, automatic deletion functions, playback with variable speed and a sleep timer. The podcast search enables you to quickly find individual episodes or to search a large number of databases for new podcasts and trending shows. In addition to this, the app also supports video podcasts, YouTube channels, audiobooks, streaming radio and other media sources.
