Overcast

Like many regular consumers of podcasts, the recent Apple Podcast app update was a severe disappointment that sent me off on a quest to find a new player. Since then I’ve tried several different apps, but I can now say that, without a doubt, Overcast is the best free podcast app I’ve ever come across. I should have been using it from the start. While it’s organizing of episodes and shows is slightly less intuitive than the original Apple Podcast design, this minor default is more than made up for by Overcast’s excellent sound control options. I listen to a lot of very interesting shows that have mediocre audio quality, something that always got on my nerves in the past, but with Voice Boost and Smart Speed I can now listen to these podcasts better than ever before. Couple this with a much more precise audio speed adjustment (I like to fiddle with speed constantly while I’m catching up on old episodes) and Overcast seems like it was designed with precisely my needs in mind. So, yeah, if you are also in the wilderness following the self-sabotaging atrocity that was Apple’s iOS 11 Podcast app update, the search is over. Overcast is, and apparently always was, the best free podcast player available. Enjoy it.

iOS 11 iRuined the podcast app, and I needed a replacement stat. To be honest this is the first app I downloaded, and I haven’t needed to download another. The good - initial loading of my 20+ subscribed podcasts was quick and easy. Set the first playing in the playlist and it plays through until you hit stop or it runs out. I like having a running playlist of all of the current unplayed or partially played episodes, that I can quickly drag and prioritize my new dailies before my weeklies. The bad - after the initial load, I can’t seem to browse new podcasts to add. I click a category, and the app freezes. It keeps playing what I was listening to, I can double click home to get out, but it’s not loading the search. I can kill it, go back, rinse repeat - same story. I presume it’s a bug from ios11, but it’s the one showstopper for me... Feature wishes - prioritize new podcasts like the playlist; automatic subscription loading from default podcast app; a new type of discovery service - perhaps curated or within current categories - give me 5 or 10 minute chunks of the top 5 podcasts, or give me the top rated / top streamed pod? episode? from the top 5 channels within a category ... something that gives me enough to preview, but isn’t oppressive - add a subscribe now button to the GUI and I’m set; separate video podcast section to really blow through my gigs.

I love this app. It’s sleek; I appreciate the typeface used on the interface. It looks modern and is a welcome change from the same old font Apple uses for everything. Organization is clean and relatively intuitive once you get used to it. Definitely a WORTHY replacement for the stock Podcasts app, which I used for years before I found this gem. My only problems with Overcast pertain to the Apple Watch app. There seems to be more of a delay when hitting pause or start, and sometimes the pause/start button doesn’t work at all, which is horrible when you need to have a conversation with someone, or you’re at a drive-thru, or when you need the sound to stop immediately for whatever reason. That button needs to work reliably. Second, it would be REALLY COOL if the Digital Crown could be used as a volume control, like in Apple’s “Now Playing” app. It’s really convenient, and would be the next best thing to a reliable pause control. All that said, Overcast is vastly superior to the stock Podcasts app, and can still be controlled from Now Playing, provided the Overcast app is deleted from the Watch. One thing the Overcast Watch app has going for it is it’s MUCH prettier than Now Playing. It can certainly use some improvement, and I’m confident that will happen, because this is a GREAT app!

What I love about this app is how customizable and user friendly it is. You can pick different color schemes for the apps, get super particular about what order to display shows and episodes in your feed, create playlists (the main reason I got this app and deleted the regular “Podcasts” Apple app), etc. There are so many options without it becoming overwhelming so kudos to the creators! My one gripe is that I wish the “Add Podcasts” section of the app would be updated more frequently. It seems like the suggested podcasts in the “most recommended” category or “comedy” category, or any of the other categories hardly ever change. It’s always the same list of podcasts with one or two new ones thrown in. This makes it difficult for me to find more podcasts and ultimately spend more time on the app. It would also be great to get suggestions for other podcasts that are similar to what I already listen to (ex: “if you liked x podcast, you might also like y podcast”). This app does not make easy to discover new podcasts/podcasts that are similar to the ones I already enjoy, and that’s the only way in which the Apple “podcasts” app is superior to this one.

With iOS 13 came a change in many apps: a return to a top or higher level. The App Store brings me to “Today” after I post a review. Makes no sense. Maybe (probably, likely) I want to review or shop related apps. You all … why? You all leave me where I’ve put an episode when I’m rearranging my queue. Also, no sense. Say I have my “Fiction ” out of order. Every time I click “play next” the episode goes to the proper place in the queue but so does my view and working cursor. Where are the next 10 episodes of my drama? I don’t know. I have to go look for them. It’s easy to find where everything is going: click ▶️, aka "play". To find what I'm putting in order used to be logical and easy but no more. I inexplicably have to scroll to search for them or remove them from "Fiction" and begin again. Still makes no sense. I can't keep track of what I'm trying to put in order; I'm constantly removed from my reference point of "here's my future list". It's a slow, absurd process that might work for subscribers to a half dozen pods, not folks who have more than 100. Serial was just another podcast to us; good but not the beginning of everything. At least give me a choice: Nice Old Way or New Cumbersome Method. Please think about it. I'm intensely disgusted by it and actually get angry when using it.