Is Apple Getting Ready To Launch A New Podcast App With iOS 6?

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In iOS 6, Searching For A Podcast Yields No Results.
In iOS 6, Searching For A Podcast Yields No Results.

The implementation of podcasts in iOS has traditionally seemed like an afterthought. In order to find a podcast, you had to jump over to iTunes, find the episode you wanted, download it, and then hop back over to the music app to play it, in the same fashion as you would a playlist. Apple provided no options to automatically download episodes, subscribe to certain shows, or sync podcasts across devices. With iOS 6, this could all change, according to All Things D.

If the rumors turn out to be true, Apple will soon be launching a dedicated podcast app along with iOS 6, which is expected to be released in fall. Unfortunately, it appears that OS X users will still have to interact with iTunes in order to manage podcasts. This alleged app will allow users to “discover, download, and play” podcasts on their mobile devices.

iOS 6, which was made available to developers this week, further solidifies this rumor, as it contains no mention of podcasts of any kind in the iTunes app. There is no podcast section, and searching for a podcast yields no results. It is likely that we will not see this podcast app appear in any beta of iOS 6, since Apple usually likes to reserve a few features to announce at launch.

If Apple wishes to compete in this field, they have some stiff competition, such as the likes of Instacast and Downcast, two of the most popular podcast apps currently on the App Store. Including the app with the OS may be just enough to kill the competition though, since most podcasting apps aren’t free.

Instacast ranks favorably on the App Store, with a 4.5/5 rating.

Interestingly enough, it also appears that Apple may also be completely removing iTunes U from the iTunes app, further defining this trend of iTunes being split up into dedicated apps.

Source: All Things D

 

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