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Podcast apps have been sort of a sore spot on Android for a long time, but one of the best options — Pocket Casts — is getting a pretty nice upgrade that should add a highly sought-after feature.
Version 4.5 brings us Chromecast support, meaning you can listen to all your favorite podcasts (like the MobileRoar podcast) through your TV simply be streaming it to your Chromecast HDMI dongle. Simply start playback of whichever episode you’re listening to and hit the Chromecast button that can be found at the upper right of the Now Playing screen.
Other changes in today’s update brings some nice, subtle changes to the app’s visual flare. Specifically, colors of certain app elements will now automatically change to reflect the artwork of whatever you’re listening to. For instance, if a podcast’s logo is mostly red, you might find that the color of buttons and controls will also be some tint of red.
Lastly, Pocket Casts 4.5 adds the ability to easily rearrange items in your playlist. It all sounds great from here, so make no delay in heading to the Google Play Store for the download. And in case you needed some motivation to spend that $4 to buy it, just know this: there simply isn’t a better option out there. Go ahead and grab it here.
Great app. I bought this some time ago. Even better now with Chromecast support. Score.
Serious question: What makes Pocket Casts better than an app like Stitcher which is free? I mainly listen from my phone.
Personal preference I guess. I have listened to podcasts for years. During my time with Android I have tried many and bought several podcast clients. None have come close to Pocket Casts for what I need.
I have tried Sticher several times and it just has too many bugs and I would saY that as an app it is just now starting to catch up to where Pocket Casts was at 3.0.
Some of the things Pocket Casts lets you make filters for your podcasts based on many factors like, played/partially played/finished, audio or video, downloaded/downloading/not downloaded, sorting, auto download, wifi only, charging only. This is just for the filters that make lists of your podcasts. There are also global settings and settings per podcast. After you have your filters done the podcasts appear and behave like you want them to like magic.
Pocket Casts also can play podcasts at variable speeds, looks VERY nice, and the developers are awesome at answering questions and quickly fixing any problems that might arise.
Forgot to mention that you can sync podcasts between devices and not only the actual podcasts but the progress in a podcast also.
You also sync filters / playlists between devices. Plus, all podcast refreshing takes place on their servers, so getting updates on your device is very quick.
Cool. Thanks for explaining :-)
I haven’t used Stitcher… But what I want to say is that when Google retired Listen I had to look for a suitable replacement. Back then paid options were the only good ones, it was Doggcatcher and PocketCasts.
Pocket Casts has been on the top of their game for a while, providing options and features I like.
I haven’t used Stitcher in a while, but back in the day you could only listen to podcasts that you could find in the app(which was VERY limited). Not only can I find very obscure podcasts in PocketCasts just by searching, but they also have an import option for ones that you can’t find.