| Cult of Mac

Spotify could take on Apple’s premium podcast service … with a twist

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Spotify is adding 2x as many monthly subscribers as Apple Music
Spotify reportedly won't take a cut of creators' subscription revenue.
Photo: Spotify

Earlier this week, Apple opened up its Podcasts service to subscriptions, calling it a “global marketplace for listeners to discover premium subscriptions offered by their favorite creators.” Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that Spotify is set to jump in with a rival premium podcast feature.

However, unlike Apple, Spotify supposedly won’t take a cut of podcasters’ subscription revenues.

Premium Podcasts+ service could debut at Tuesday’s Apple event

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Apple Podcasts could get a premium tier.
Would you shell out for Podcasts+?
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple could debut a premium podcast service at Tuesday’s “Spring Loaded” event, according to Recode reporter Peter Kafka.

“Pretty sure Apple is prepping its own podcast plan – a paid subscription service – on Tuesday,” Kafka tweeted Sunday.

No additional details are known about the possible podcast initiative, which presumably would join paid subscription services Apple News+, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Fitness+. The possibility of a paid podcasting service from Apple was rumored earlier this year.

This app converts your entire reading list into listening material

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Elocance
With this app, you're basically converting any written content you want into a podcast.
Photo: Elocance

Between work and keeping up with the latest news, it can feel like there’s too much information to consume. Luckily, there’s a way to multitask and make the most out of the hours in your day — and tackle your reading list at the same time.

The Elocance Audio Reading App is highly rated, receiving 4.4 out of 5 stars on the App Store for its ability to convert all written content into audio that you can listen to while multitasking or on the go. And you can get a lifetime subscription on the cheap!

Real astronauts will splash-land on For All Mankind podcast

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‘For All Mankind: The Official Podcast’ debuted Friday on Apple Podcasts
For All Mankind: The Official Podcast is a mix of hard science and alternate history.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is launching a podcast dedicated to For All Mankind, the streaming service’s alternate-history show about the space race. The podcast will serve as a platform for real astronauts and scientists to discuss space travel with the series’ cast and creators.

The first episode of the podcast debuts Friday, the same day season two of the sci-fi series arrives.

Apple might give paid podcasts a whirl

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Apple Podcasts could get a premium tier.
Everything on Apple Podcasts now is free. That could change if the company creates Podcasts+.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly considering a for-pay podcast subscription service. It would join other Apple services offering premium content, like Apple TV+ and News+.

The news sent shares of rival Spotify down over 7% on Friday.

We talk Apple’s incoming hardware drop plus insane M1 Mac mini performance on The CultCast

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CultCast 469
There's nothing small about Mac mini's performance!

This week on The CultCast: Get your wallets ready, Apple reportedly has a mysterious hardware release planned for December 8! We discuss. Plus: The M1 Mac mini is an unstoppable monster, and we’ve got more insane benchmarks to drool over. Seriously, do not waste your money on anything but an M1 Mac.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Apple recommends the best podcasts, books and audiobooks of 2020

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Apple names its best podcasts, books and audiobooks of 2020
These are some of Apple’s choices for best book or podcast of 2020.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

With the year winding down, Apple picked its favorite podcasts, books and audiobooks of 2020. The offerings “kept us entertained, made us think, provided a much-needed escape, or filled our hearts up,“ noted Apple.

All the recommendations are, of course, available through Apple Podcasts or Apple Books.

Apple snaps up startup that makes finding podcasts more like listening to radio

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iPhone FM radio chips
Why can't finding the right podcast be more like this?
Photo: Alan Levine/Flickr CC

Apple quietly snapped up podcasting app Scout FM, which tries to make podcasting sound more like tuning into radio stations, for an undisclosed amount earlier this year.

Scout FM worked by letting users choose particular topics, then automatically customizing a radio station-like podcasting listening experience for them. It was intended as a way to cut through the findability clutter of hundreds of thousands of available podcasts.

Why we’re skipping the new iMac and buying Apple stock, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 436: This week we talk iPhone SE 2, HomePod and the AirPower charging mat, resurrected!
Which makes a better investment, iMac or AAPL?
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: The brand-new iMac may look the same, but it’s so powerful that video editors are gleefully buying two or three at a time — we’ll tell you everything that’s new.

But look, forget buying the shiny new iMac, and put your money in Apple stock instead! I’m going all in on AAPL. Find out why I’m about to dump a huge cash stockpile into Apple stock, and the cash value of my current investments. We’re talking real numbers here, people.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Delete downloaded podcasts to free up storage space on iPhone

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How to delete Podcasts from iPhone
Don't let Podcasts eat up all your storage.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

For most podcast listeners, there comes a time when you have way too many unplayed shows, taking up way too much space on your iPhone or iPad. Fortunately, this is a problem with an easy fix.

Take back precious storage space by deleting episodes you don’t need to have saved locally, and prevent the Podcasts app from hoarding content in the future. We’ll show you how.