Outcast for Watch

These developers try really hard to bring a great app that gets around Apple’s limitations imposed on the Watch. Apple stopped the ability to stream music and podcasts thru the watch. They brought back Apple Music, and I have read that Podcasts are coming back in the next major update. Excited to see what Outcast does with that. Hopefully they will be able to use it too, not just Apple Podcasts. The app tries really hard to be the best podcast app and the best Apple Watch app out there. This latest update allows streaming (Yay!), but really it is buffering and playing once enough is downloaded. Once it starts, you still need to keep the Watch active for the full download, which is still not very practical. It’s OK if you can sit and wait for a pod to download before a run, and the play starting helps with the boredom of waiting for a not so quick download, but who has time to sit around waiting for downloads. Hoping that the update in Fall 2018 solves this, and I’m sure this developer will be all over it when it does. Apple needs to break the mandatory tethering to iPhone soon like they eventually did with the iPhone to a PC.

Updating my previous review. App works so much better now in all respects EXCEPT it kills my battery! I use it about an hour a day on my walk and my watch battery which started above 90% is routinely down to 35-40% by the end of the walk. I have to charge the watch right away or I can’t get through the rest of the day (gotta close those rings!) If The watch could be charged while wearing it wouldn’t be a problem but since I can’t this bothers me. It’s probably more an Apple problem than an Outcast problem but we all know how responsive Apple is to customer concerns! Just be aware when using this app that your battery will drain super fast. Still, it’s a great app. I was very excited that this app was finally filling the podcast gap in my Gen3 Apple Watch. Exported my podcasts from Overcast and I was good to go. It worked great for a couple of days then locked up. Had to restart the watch to get it to work again. A week later I’m having the same problem. I think this app has great potential and just needs a little tweaking. Maybe when the next update comes out it will be more stable. This is well worth trying, just know you have to work with it. Hoping to give the next update 5 stars.

Everything about this app is great EXCEPT the horrible BATTERY DRAIN. U can see the battery v life going down as the minute goes by. It's insane. I had this app installed when I had my Applewatch series 3 running watch OS whatever version it was during late 2017 until buying my Series 4 here in October. It was the only podcast app that allowed me to download podcast episodes straight to my watch. It was key. It has its faults but that was Apples restrictions. Now with watch OS5.0 With the series 4, they updated some things making the app much better n easier allowing u to download straight from ur phone app then just unpausing it on ur watch to finish the download. I prefer it to Apples Podcast app n also now seen like I owe them some sort of loyalty for getting me my podcasts back when no other app could on my Applewatch. The best part about the update is the volume and also being able to restart it podcasts from where u were last listening. In the old version, I always wrote down the time I was at n then fast forwarded to the correct spot. Props 2 the app developers.

I bought an Apple Watch 3 with Cellular for 2 reasons; I’m sick of carrying around a gigantic phone and I wanted to be able to listen to Christian podcasts while I was hitting golf balls, shooting hoops, etc...without having to lug around my phone...and this app is excellent for your Apple Watch. I have no complaints...I simply love it and I did try a few others and they were not nearly as user friendly as Outcast. Thank you my good people at Outcast! FYI - for those of you on the fence about adding your watch to your cell plan, it’s worth it...well worth it. I think it’s like $10-$15 per month with a $30 activation fee but it is SO worth it! I know this will ensure no one reads this review but God bless and I hope you find great podcasts that are uplifting and help you in your walk!

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I am just tired of this. Save your dollar and just use podcasts from the phone. I bought it a month ago. First, I tried to download a single podcast episode, and it was already a drama. I followed the Developers’ guidelines (disable bluetooth on the phone, make sure that the watch is connected to WiFi), and the app crashed two or three times before even starting to download. Then you need to keep the watch screen on. Fine, let’s try that. Even when doing that, though, the download pauses every five seconds. I wanted to take a video but it was hard to keep the watch screen alive when pointing the phone at it. After pressing “resume” 20 times, at the end apparently it worked. Or at least, it seemed to have worked. I connect my headphones to the watch, press play. Nothing happens, and the podcast auto-pauses. The time stays at 0:00.I try again, no luck. It doesn’t pause, but the time does not progress. I feel a “tap” from the swatch every time I press play, but right now it seems like the app is mocking me. In a month I could not make it work even once. On the plus side, the developers are kind and responsive, but the app simply (most likely for Apple Watch’s framework) does not provide a decent podcast experience. Good for the lucky ones that managed to get it to work, I am not among them. Summary: a pain to download podcasts, a pain