Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
---|---|
Initial release | iOS: June 26, 2012 tvOS: January 26, 2016 watchOS: September 17, 2018 HomePod: February 9, 2018 macOS: October 7, 2019 Amazon Echo: December 13, 2019 |
Stable release | iOS 15.1 / October 25, 2021 |
Operating system | iOS 10 and later iPadOS 10 and later watchOS 5.1 and later tvOS 9.1.1 and later macOS Catalina and later Windows (as part of iTunes) |
Predecessor | iTunes (macOS) |
License | Freeware |
Website | www |
Part of a series on |
macOS |
---|
Apple Podcasts (known as simply Podcasts in Apple operating systems) is an audio streaming service and media player application developed by Apple Inc. for playing podcasts. Apple began supporting podcasts with iTunes 4.9 released in June 2005 and launched its first standalone mobile app in 2012. The app was later pre-installed with iOS beginning October 2014. The Apple Podcasts directory features more than two million shows. [1] Apple Podcasts is available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, CarPlay, Microsoft Windows operating systems, and on Amazon Alexa devices.
Apple was an early promoter of podcasts (the term is a portmanteau of Apple's iPod music player and "broadcast"), [2] and added playback functionality to iTunes 4.9 released in June 2005 and built a directory of shows in its iTunes Music Store, starting with 3,000 entries. [3] [4] In April 2020, Apple Podcasts surpassed one million shows. [5] In June 2021, Apple launched the option for podcast creators to implement paid subscriptions through podcast channels. [6]
Apple Podcasts had an estimated 28 million U.S. monthly listeners and 23.8% market share in March 2021, the first month it fell behind Spotify Podcasts as the top podcasting platform in the U.S. This was a decrease from Apple's 34% market share in 2018. [7]
A standalone Apple Podcasts app was announced at the 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference as a feature of iOS 6. Apple released the app early on the App Store on June 26, 2012. It adds a new "stations" feature for discovering new podcasts. [8] It is a standard app on CarPlay.
A standalone Apple Podcasts app was brought to 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TVs on September 24, 2012, with the Software 6.0 update. [9] The tvOS-based 4th generation Apple TV launched in October 2015 without the ability to play podcasts. This was despite a Podcasts icon appearing on the home screen in commercials, in-store demo loops, and developer documentation. [10] Apple Podcasts was added with tvOS 9.1.1 released on January 26, 2016. [11]
Apple Podcasts was added to the Apple Watch with watchOS 5 on September 17, 2018. [12]
Apple Podcasts for macOS and Microsoft Windows was initially available as part of the iTunes app, which added support for podcasts in version 4.9 in June 2005. [13] [14]
Apple announced at WWDC 2019 that iTunes for macOS would be split and replaced by the Music, TV and Podcasts apps with the release of macOS Catalina. [15] Apple Podcasts remains available through iTunes on Microsoft Windows. [16]
Apple's HomePod family supports Podcasts using a voice user interface. Support for Apple Podcasts was added to the Amazon Echo line in December 2019. [17]
# | Year | Show of the Year | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2022 | Slow Burn | [18] |
2 | 2023 | Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus | [19] |
Critical reviews of the Apple Podcasts app have generally been mixed. In 2012, Engadget stated it "offers an opportunity to break through the clutter of iTunes". [20] In 2017, Slate criticized it for glitches and low-quality audio. [21] In 2019, Vulture called the app "a bummer" and "bare-bones and fairly clunky, even when it comes to basic functions like subscribing." [22]
iTunes is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital multimedia, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems, and can be used to rip songs from CDs, as well as play content with the use of dynamic, smart playlists. Options for sound optimizations exist, as well as ways to wirelessly share the iTunes library.
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 TV shows, and 65,000 films. When it opened, it was the only legal digital catalog of music to offer songs from all five major record labels.
The iTunes media platform was first released by Apple in 2001 as a simple music player for Mac computers. Over time, iTunes developed into a sophisticated multimedia content manager, hardware synchronization manager and e-commerce platform. iTunes was finally discontinued for new Mac computers in 2019, but is still available and supported for Macs running older operating systems and for Windows computers to ensure updated compatibility for syncing with new releases of iOS devices.
Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Its media services include streaming media, TV Everywhere-based services, local media sources, and sports journalism and broadcasts.
The App Store is an app marketplace developed and maintained by Apple Inc., for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS SDK. Apps can be downloaded on the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, and some can be transferred to the Apple Watch smartwatch or 4th-generation or newer Apple TVs as extensions of iPhone apps.
Stitcher was a media company that specializes in the creation, distribution, and monetization of podcasts. Stitcher creates original shows through networks such as Earwolf and Witness Docs. Stitcher provides ad sales and distribution services to 300+ shows. Stitcher is home to one of the largest podcast listening apps. In July 2020, it was acquired by SiriusXM. The acquisition was finalized by 19 October 2020.
Plex is a network for streaming that provides free ad-supported shows and movies to users worldwide, and allows them to discuss and discover content across all major subscription streaming services. Plex also provides a media server software and series of apps that allows users to stream their personal media collections from their home to their various devices. In 2019, Plex launched an ad-supported streaming service of movies, television shows and music that is accessible from its applications. Plex Inc. is based in Campbell, California.
Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 590 million monthly active users, including 226 million paying subscribers, as of September 2023. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.
iCloud is a cloud service developed by Apple Inc. Launched on October 12, 2011, iCloud enables users to store and sync data across devices, including Apple Mail, Apple Calendar, Apple Photos, Apple Notes, contacts, settings, backups, and files, to collaborate with other users, and track assets through Find My. It is built into iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS and may additionally be accessed through a limited web interface and Windows application.
Groove Music was an audio player software application included with Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11.
iOS 6 is the sixth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc, being the successor to iOS 5. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 11, 2012, and was released on September 19, 2012. It was succeeded by iOS 7 on September 18, 2013.
The following is a list of on-demand music streaming services. These services offer streaming of full-length content via the Internet as a part of their service, without the listener necessarily having to purchase a file for download. This type of service is somewhat similar to Internet radio. Many of these sites have advertising and offer non-free options in the style of a digital music store.
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country, which are broadcast live to over 200 countries 24 hours a day. The service was announced on June 8, 2015, and launched on June 30, 2015. New subscribers get a one-month free or six months free trial with the purchase of select products before the service requires a monthly subscription.
tvOS is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second-generation, it is based on the iOS operating system and has many similar frameworks, technologies, and concepts.
Google Podcasts is a podcast application developed by Google and released on June 18, 2018, for Android devices.
macOS Catalina is the sixteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. It is the successor to macOS Mojave and was announced at WWDC 2019 on June 3, 2019 and released to the public on October 7, 2019. Catalina is the first version of macOS to support only 64-bit applications and the first to include Activation Lock. It is also the last version of macOS to have the major version number of 10; its successor, Big Sur, released on November 12, 2020, is version 11. In order to increase web compatibility, Safari, Chromium and Firefox have frozen the OS in the user agent running in subsequent releases of macOS at 10.15.7 Catalina.
Music is a media player application developed for the iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, macOS, Android, and Windows 11 operating systems by Apple Inc. It can play music files stored locally on devices, as well as stream from the iTunes Store and Apple Music.
Pre-installed iOS apps, referred to in the App Store as 'Built-In Apps', are a suite of mobile applications developed by Apple Inc. which are bundled with iOS and installed by default or through a system update. Many of the default apps found on iOS have counterparts on Apple's other operating systems macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS, which are often modified versions of or similar to the iOS application. As each app is integrated into the operating system itself, they often feature greater support for system features than third-party alternatives and are quick to adapt new features of iOS.
Spotify Live, formerly Spotify Greenroom, was a social audio app from Spotify, which allowed the user to host or participate in a live-audio virtual environment called room for conversation. The capacity of a room was limited to 1000 people. The app was available for Android and iOS. It rivaled Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse that belonged to the same social media segment. The app was shut down on the 30th of April 2023.