Apple’s Podcasts app crashes on launch for most users

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Apple's looking for a way to monetize its podcasting success.
Apple's looking for a way to monetize its podcasting success.
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Bad news for those of you who use Apple’s Podcasts app: For the vast majority of users running iOS 7.1.1, the app crashes immediately after launching.

There’s currently no word as to why this is happening, since the Podcasts app was last updated May 29 — adding only minor bug fixes — but the malfunction has just kicked in.

Podcasts is one of Apple’s most poorly rated apps, and has been heavily criticized for performance issues relating to syncing issues, podcasts being deleted and other problems. Apple has attempted to rectify these problems with previous updates, but currently the app carries a meager two-star rating in the App Store.

While there are plenty of superior podcast apps to use (Instacast is my personal pick), this is bad news for Apple since the latest iOS 8 beta suggests the company plans to use Podcasts as one of its preinstalled apps (meaning it cannot be deleted) in the next-generation mobile OS.

For those who insist on sticking with Apple’s Podcasts app, several users have reported that the app can be made to work by turning on Airplane mode.

Update: It appears to be working again. Let us know if you’re still having problems with the app.

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