How To: Use Apple's Podcasts App and its New Stations Feature

Posted by Carter Dotson on March 25th, 2013
+ Universal & Apple Watch App - Designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

Want to listen to listen to the wealth of podcasts that are available on iTunes from anywhere you have an iOS device and an internet connection? Then download the Podcasts app from the App Store. Now, the app can be a bit convoluted to use, so this how to guide should make getting into the app much easier.

If this is your first time using it, the app will show a blank screen with a white square you can tap to go to the Podcasts Store. Otherwise, you can tap Store in the upper-left corner to go browse for podcasts on iTunes.

Use the tabs to find audio and video podcasts, find the most popular podcasts, or search for your favorite podcasts, like The Portable Podcast! You can download individual episodes or subscribe to the podcast, which will show the latest episodes in the app.

To return to the main screen, tap Library in the upper-right corner. From the main screen, tap on the podcast’s icon to open up the available episodes; it’s also possible to add old episodes to be displayed.

Tapping on an episode will start streaming it. It’s also possible to download episodes for offline listening by tapping the downward arrow next to it. As well, tapping the blue arrow will allow you to see an episode’s description, mark an episode as played or unplayed, or add it to an On-The-Go playlist.

When you play a podcast, there’s the standard music controls, along with 15 second skip buttons to easily re-listen to something or skip ahead. The 1x button adjusts playback speed to playback episodes faster or slower, if you wish. The center clock icon allows for a sleep timer to be set. The share arrow allows you to share the podcast via different built-in services.

When you call up the music control buttons from the multitasking bar, the forward and reverse buttons are replaced with the 15 second skip buttons.

The podcast’s settings page allows you to update the podcast with new content, adjust which episodes should be kept, and even enable automatic downloads.

Now, there’s a new “My Stations” feature which is built for the podcast-obsessed. This makes it possible to easily organize your podcasts by topic, or some other methodology. It also houses the On-The-Go playlist for making a quick playlist of podcasts to play back. To make your own custom station, tap the New Station button and name it. Then choose which podcasts you want to appear on the station. The station will show any episodes that have been added to your library, so to get podcast episodes to appear on your station, you need to add them from the individual podcast’s page.

You can choose the order for new episodes from each station to be played in by tapping Edit. Tapping Settings will call up a variety of settings for Play Order, which episodes to include, and the podcasts included in the station.

These tips should help you master Apple’s official Podcasts app for listening to your favorite podcasts from iTunes.

Apple Podcasts

+ Universal & Apple Watch App - Designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
Released: 2012-06-26 :: Category: Game

FREE!

iPhone Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Apple Podcasts screenshot 1 Apple Podcasts screenshot 2 Apple Podcasts screenshot 3 Apple Podcasts screenshot 4 Apple Podcasts screenshot 5

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Apple Podcasts screenshot 6 Apple Podcasts screenshot 7 Apple Podcasts screenshot 8 Apple Podcasts screenshot 9 Apple Podcasts screenshot 10

Apple Watch Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Apple Podcasts screenshot 11 Apple Podcasts screenshot 12 Apple Podcasts screenshot 13
Share This: