3 ms·

I recently tried Apple Music and then gave up because it didn’t support podcasts and the podcast apps that exist in the Apple ecosystem aren’t as good as Spotif

by nailer 3y ago

I recently tried Apple Music and then gave up because it didn’t support podcasts and the podcast apps that exist in the Apple ecosystem aren’t as good as Spotify

basisword 3y ago
>> the podcast apps that exist in the Apple ecosystem aren’t as good as Spotify Do you mean Spotify is better because it's all in one? Or specifically as a podcast client it's better? Because, as a podcast client, Spotify is shockingly bad. Perhaps the worst podcast client available. Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Pocketcasts are all much, much better.
- subtra3t 3y ago
  To each their own. I personally like Spotify (as a podcast client) just the way it is, it does what I want it to.
  - niek_pas 3y ago
    > it does what I want it to This is Spotify's main advantage: most people already have it installed, and it's good enough if you don't care that much about the podcast-listening experience.
    - nytesky 3y ago
      Did they really invest in Rogan and podcasts just to keep their existing customers? I thought it was to entice podcast connoisseurs to the Spotify platform, who WILL care about podcast listening experience?
    - thenbe 3y ago
      I was in this boat. Now I'd really like to get off. The UI is bad but I got used to bad. But I've been asked to change my password *checks email* 10 (!) times in the last few months. I don't share my password with anyone, but I do use a VPN. Anyways, I can't seem to find a suitable alternative that will keep track of my listening progress across both linux and iOS.
    - prmoustache 3y ago
      > if you don't care that much about the podcast-listening experience What is so special about podcast-listening experience that you would need a specific player for?
      - niek_pas 3y ago
        Chapter support, playback rate control, smart speed (skips silences), voice boost, a UI that’s less horrific than Spotify’s are the main things for me.
- gempir 3y ago
  I hate Spotify Podcasts with a passion. The UI is lackluster, since it's just the same one from the normal Spotify Music experience. Because they bought Joe Rogan they had to add video too and video is horribly implemented. There isn't even an obvious way to turn it off. I consider myself tech-savy but I gave up trying to turn off and just switched to Apple Podcasts. Podcasts and Music are not the same. Please if you really want Podcasts to happen then, Spotify, make a separate App for it.
  - the_snooze 3y ago
    Spotify podcasts were what made me jump ship to Apple Music. At least back then, Spotify would heavily prioritize their podcasts in the UI. Podcasts were front and center on the main screen. I don't just mean the desktop or mobile UI, but in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too, where screen space and attention are at a premium. I had to keep fighting the UI to get to what I was paying Spotify for: the music. When I tried out Apple Music and saw that it was music only, it was easy to leave Spotify because their priorities were no longer aligned with mine.
  - prmoustache 3y ago
    > Podcasts and Music are not the same. Not a spotify nor Apple Music/Podcast/itunes user here. Aren't both audio stuff where you press play, pause, stop, rewind and fast forward? The only difference I can think of is that you might sometimes want to accelerate playback of podcasts but that doesn't mean it can't exist in the same player.
    - sleepybrett 3y ago
      Podcast apps, good ones, have many features you don't need in a simple app like a winamp or vlc. 1) An online catalog of series that is searchable (probably both by name and topic and participants). 2) That catalog must contain metadata both at a series level and an episode level. 3) That online catalog must also be navigable without search, of course. 4) Ability to subscribe to any given series and for the app to have an option to pre-cache an episode for offline use. 5) Several content controls that aren't really required for music listening but are must haves for podcasts such as timed skips (30s, 60s) and playback speed adjustment (only useful in a music player where you probably want to do beat matching). I think the biggest differentiator though is the episode/series catalog. It makes podcasts actually discoverable.
- nailer 3y ago
  More the inverse, that Podcasts is bad because it doesn't have the integrations Apple music has, eg there's Sonos support for Music, but none for Podcasts.
theshrike79 3y ago
I gave up on Spotify because they started hogging podcasts behind their ecosystem. I like listening to mine on Overcast (previously with the Apple Podcasts app)
asystole 3y ago
IMO podcasts have nothing to do with music, and the fact that people expect one app to do both is entirely Spotify's fault!
- recursive 3y ago
  They're both audio. I'd expect an audio player app to be able to play audio. Music and podcasts are both audio.
seam_carver 3y ago
Overcast had the exclusive feature to make all voices the same volume. It's really nice sounding once you use it.
- ghaff 3y ago
  Though that's mostly on whoever processed the audio. When I still had a podcast, I ran it through something or other equalize volumes (and do a couple other things) and it was pretty good and easy.
kanwisher 3y ago
IOS and OSX have a built in Podcast app that are great
reportgunner 3y ago
What are "podcast apps" for ? I thought podcast is just an mp3 that you download and listen to.
- the_snooze 3y ago
  Podcast apps let you subscribe to feeds, so it automatically downloads new content when available. Some also have quality-of-life features like speeding up playback, syncing progress between devices, and letting you view text data that accompany the audio (e.g., episode descriptions and links).
  - jwells89 3y ago
    Podcasts also tend to carry different metadata than music files, e.g. chapters which makes a dedicated client a little nicer since it’s guaranteed to handle all of that correctly.
- nailer 3y ago
  It's a combination of audio files (like MP3) and a feed file (like RSS).
- chihuahua 3y ago
  Podcast apps let you do the following: * discover/search podcasts and subscribe to them. * download new episodes automatically * create a playlist of episodes; when an episode is finished, it's removed from the list and deleted automatically * keep track of your position in an episode; since they can several hours long, you don't want to restart from the beginning

by nailer 3y ago

I recently tried Apple Music and then gave up because it didn’t support podcasts and the podcast apps that exist in the Apple ecosystem aren’t as good as Spotify

basisword 3y ago

>> the podcast apps that exist in the Apple ecosystem aren’t as good as Spotify Do you mean Spotify is better because it's all in one? Or specifically as a podcast client it's better? Because, as a podcast client, Spotify is shockingly bad. Perhaps the worst podcast client available. Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Pocketcasts are all much, much better.

subtra3t 3y ago
To each their own. I personally like Spotify (as a podcast client) just the way it is, it does what I want it to.
- niek_pas 3y ago
  > it does what I want it to This is Spotify's main advantage: most people already have it installed, and it's good enough if you don't care that much about the podcast-listening experience.
  - nytesky 3y ago
    Did they really invest in Rogan and podcasts just to keep their existing customers? I thought it was to entice podcast connoisseurs to the Spotify platform, who WILL care about podcast listening experience?
  - thenbe 3y ago
    I was in this boat. Now I'd really like to get off. The UI is bad but I got used to bad. But I've been asked to change my password *checks email* 10 (!) times in the last few months. I don't share my password with anyone, but I do use a VPN. Anyways, I can't seem to find a suitable alternative that will keep track of my listening progress across both linux and iOS.
  - prmoustache 3y ago
    > if you don't care that much about the podcast-listening experience What is so special about podcast-listening experience that you would need a specific player for?
    - niek_pas 3y ago
      Chapter support, playback rate control, smart speed (skips silences), voice boost, a UI that’s less horrific than Spotify’s are the main things for me.
gempir 3y ago
I hate Spotify Podcasts with a passion. The UI is lackluster, since it's just the same one from the normal Spotify Music experience. Because they bought Joe Rogan they had to add video too and video is horribly implemented. There isn't even an obvious way to turn it off. I consider myself tech-savy but I gave up trying to turn off and just switched to Apple Podcasts. Podcasts and Music are not the same. Please if you really want Podcasts to happen then, Spotify, make a separate App for it.
- the_snooze 3y ago
  Spotify podcasts were what made me jump ship to Apple Music. At least back then, Spotify would heavily prioritize their podcasts in the UI. Podcasts were front and center on the main screen. I don't just mean the desktop or mobile UI, but in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too, where screen space and attention are at a premium. I had to keep fighting the UI to get to what I was paying Spotify for: the music. When I tried out Apple Music and saw that it was music only, it was easy to leave Spotify because their priorities were no longer aligned with mine.
- prmoustache 3y ago
  > Podcasts and Music are not the same. Not a spotify nor Apple Music/Podcast/itunes user here. Aren't both audio stuff where you press play, pause, stop, rewind and fast forward? The only difference I can think of is that you might sometimes want to accelerate playback of podcasts but that doesn't mean it can't exist in the same player.
  - sleepybrett 3y ago
    Podcast apps, good ones, have many features you don't need in a simple app like a winamp or vlc. 1) An online catalog of series that is searchable (probably both by name and topic and participants). 2) That catalog must contain metadata both at a series level and an episode level. 3) That online catalog must also be navigable without search, of course. 4) Ability to subscribe to any given series and for the app to have an option to pre-cache an episode for offline use. 5) Several content controls that aren't really required for music listening but are must haves for podcasts such as timed skips (30s, 60s) and playback speed adjustment (only useful in a music player where you probably want to do beat matching). I think the biggest differentiator though is the episode/series catalog. It makes podcasts actually discoverable.
nailer 3y ago
More the inverse, that Podcasts is bad because it doesn't have the integrations Apple music has, eg there's Sonos support for Music, but none for Podcasts.

theshrike79 3y ago

I gave up on Spotify because they started hogging podcasts behind their ecosystem. I like listening to mine on Overcast (previously with the Apple Podcasts app)

asystole 3y ago

IMO podcasts have nothing to do with music, and the fact that people expect one app to do both is entirely Spotify's fault!

recursive 3y ago
They're both audio. I'd expect an audio player app to be able to play audio. Music and podcasts are both audio.

seam_carver 3y ago

Overcast had the exclusive feature to make all voices the same volume. It's really nice sounding once you use it.

ghaff 3y ago
Though that's mostly on whoever processed the audio. When I still had a podcast, I ran it through something or other equalize volumes (and do a couple other things) and it was pretty good and easy.

kanwisher 3y ago

IOS and OSX have a built in Podcast app that are great

reportgunner 3y ago

What are "podcast apps" for ? I thought podcast is just an mp3 that you download and listen to.

the_snooze 3y ago
Podcast apps let you subscribe to feeds, so it automatically downloads new content when available. Some also have quality-of-life features like speeding up playback, syncing progress between devices, and letting you view text data that accompany the audio (e.g., episode descriptions and links).
- jwells89 3y ago
  Podcasts also tend to carry different metadata than music files, e.g. chapters which makes a dedicated client a little nicer since it’s guaranteed to handle all of that correctly.
nailer 3y ago
It's a combination of audio files (like MP3) and a feed file (like RSS).
chihuahua 3y ago
Podcast apps let you do the following: * discover/search podcasts and subscribe to them. * download new episodes automatically * create a playlist of episodes; when an episode is finished, it's removed from the list and deleted automatically * keep track of your position in an episode; since they can several hours long, you don't want to restart from the beginning